Honorable Cassandra Kirk
Honorable Cassandra Kirk is the first Chief Magistrate Judge appointed by Governor Nathan Deal and elected by the people to serve Fulton County. Tasked to create Fulton’s newly independent Constitutional court, Judge Kirk used her over 27 years of legal experience as a jurist, prosecutor, defense attorney, civil litigator and administrative director to redesign how the Court serves its community.
Her mission with Magistrate Court is to increase accessibility and create a Court that Informs, Engages, and Empowers Our Community.
Under her leadership, the Magistrate Court eliminated the Court’s 30,000 small claims case backlog, restructured case calendaring to reduce the time parties spend waiting in court, implemented mandatory civil e-filing, piloted a Misdemeanor Mental Health Court, and created the R.E.A.C.H. Clinic, a self-help Consumer Clinic.
As a result of her commitment to the community and the legal profession, Judge Kirk received several awards and recognitions for service and leadership, including being named Judge of the Year , Magistrate Judge of the Year , Humanitarian of the Year ,Woman of the year, was honored with the power of leadership award, Unsung Heroine Award (Saving Our Children and Families), Women of Strength (The Shaquille Clarke Foundation), and was named one of Atlanta Business Journal’s Top 25 Extraordinary Atlantans, as well as a Georgia Legal Trailblazer (Daily Report). Judge Kirk received her B.A. from Williams College, and her J.D. from Washington and Lee University School of Law.