Judge Latisha Dear Jackson

Circuit in July of 2018. As a Superior Court Judge, she presides over a trial court of general jurisdiction for both civil and criminal actions with exclusive equity jurisdiction over all cases of divorce, title to land, and felonies involving jury trials, including death penalty cases. In both 2021 and 2022, Judge Jackson was selected to serve by designation as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia on two separate cases. After just nine months in office, Judge Jackson began serving as a Presiding Judge over the Circuit’s Drug Court Track 1 Accountability Court, and on January 1, 2020, she began serving as the sole presiding judge. After a year of service, Judge Jackson was unanimously elected to serve as the Presiding Judge for all the Circuit’s Accountability Courts. In 2022, Judge Jackson was elected to serve as the Chief Judge of the Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit as well as the Administrative Judge for the Fourth Judicial Administrative District which is comprised of DeKalb and Rockdale Circuits.
Immediately before her election, Judge Jackson was a Senior Associate with the oldest minorityowned law firm in the State of Georgia, Thomas Kennedy Sampson & Tompkins, LLP (“TKST”). There, LaTisha served in the litigation department defending corporate clients in medical malpractice, wrongful death, premises liability, and insurance matters. She also represented individuals in personal injury and wrongful death matters.
Prior to becoming a member of the judiciary, Judge Jackson was an attorney and counselor at law with her own law practice located in the historic City of Stone Mountain, where she specialized in all areas of juvenile law, criminal defense, family law and handled several highprofile cases. Judge Jackson has also served as an Assistant Solicitor General for DeKalb County’s Office of the Solicitor-General, where she served as a trial attorney representing the State of Georgia on various misdemeanor crimes and habeas corpus proceedings.
Judge Jackson earned her Juris Doctorate from Georgia State University College of Law, where she served on the Student Bar Association, as the Second Vice-President for the Southern Region of the Black Law Students Association, a member of the Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity and a Who’s Who of American Law Students. She obtained her undergraduate degree from the prestigious Spelman College, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics (Pre-law concentration) and a double minor in Management Organization and Writing.
A native of Los Angeles, California, Judge Jackson is active in numerous professional organizations. She is a current member of both the Georgia Association of Women Lawyers and Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys’ Judicial Applicant Review Committees. In 2014, Judge Jackson was appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia to serve on its Access to Justice Committee, where she continually works to ensure that there isunfettered access to the courts by litigants and the public as they navigate the judicial system. She is also a member of several bar associations which include but are not limited to DeKalb Bar Association, Gate City Bar and DeKalb Lawyers Association where she served an unprecedented two-year term as President. Presently, Judge Jackson is the Immediate Past Chair of the State Bar of Georgia’s Judicial Section after serving as Chair for three years. She is also a past president of the Georgia Council of Municipal Court Judges and member of the State’s Judicial Council. As Administrative Judge, Judge Jackson has again become a member of the Judicial Council.
In her community, Judge Jackson has served on the Board of Directors for the Georgia Center for Children and is a 2006 graduate of Leadership DeKalb, where she currently serves as a Board of Director and on the Selection Committee, a committee she chaired for nearly a decade. Judge Jackson also serves as a DeKalb County Advisory Board Member for Boys and Girls Club Metro Atlanta and is a proud twenty-five-year active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Giving back to the greater legal community, she has served as a regional and state judge for the Georgia High School Mock Trial Competitions.
Judge Jackson has traveled throughout the state of Georgia presenting on various judicial and legal issues with a passion for professionalism and access to justice. She also speaks at various schools throughout the metro-Atlanta area. As a continued investment to the youth, Judge Jackson created a three-year program in the DeKalb County Public School System entitled I. L.E.A.D. (Interactive Law and Education Development) Program, a program that focused on educating high school students on the law while strengthening their comprehension and writing skills. In 2011, Cedar Grove High School honored her as their community leader for her work with I.L.E.A.D and other Law-Related Education Programs.
Judge Jackson not only works and serves DeKalb County she resides there calling it home with her husband Gari B. Jackson. She is a member of Ray of Hope Christian Church and served for several years as the co-coordinator for the youth, young adult, and college student ministries.
As a testament to her accomplishments, she has received several honors: from Cambridge Executive’s Who Who’s Honors Edition to being featured in local newspapers and magazines as well as her sorority’s international magazine. She has also been honored by her sorority, several county and city associations and elected leaders including receiving the Council for Municipal Court Judges President’s Award for her commitment to access and fairness in Georgia courts. In all that she does and has accomplished thus far, Judge Jackson remains humbled, inspired, and motivated to continue to seek justice because there are still so many lives left to be touched.
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