'Somebody's Gotta Do It': Cobb Superior Court Judge Explains Roles and Responsibilities

MARIETTA — For most people, the knowledge about what a judge does stops at the last episode of “Law and Order.”

That’s what Cobb Superior Court Judge Henry Thomspon told the Kiwanis Club of Marietta at a meeting earlier this summer.

With a career that spans several decades and various judicial positions, Thompson provided insight into the unique roles and responsibilities of judges.

Born in Carroll County, Thompson attended Emory University for his undergraduate studies and the University of Georgia for law school.

His career began as an assistant district attorney in Athens-Clarke and Oconee counties before moving to Cobb County and eventually being appointed to the Cobb State Court bench by former Gov. Nathan Deal in 2013.

In 2022, Gov. Brian Kemp appointed him to fill the 11th judgeship after the Cobb Superior Court bench expanded.

Senior Judge Mary Staley Clark introduced the judge, sharing her own experience from working with him 16 years ago.

“He’s a gifted litigator. You can do trial work in a professional manner and in an adequate manner, but some people are gifted and take it to the next step up,” Clark said.

Clark recalled working with Thompson on a death penalty case involving a man whose 10-year grudge against a family resulted in the murder of an east Cobb mother and son.

Clark recalled how "horrible" the case was and how Thompson delivered the best closing argument she had ever heard.

“Thompson took the view of the youngest victim and what his moments of that day, that event, were and his feelings and desire to protect his mother. It was so profound… I’ll never forget it,” Clark said. “A little voice of a 10-year-old boy who had nobody to speak for him and who maybe might have been forgotten, to think in that way, you have to have the intellect… and the thoughtfulness and eloquence to deliver that.”

What Does a Superior Court Judge Do?

In his speech, Thompson aimed to address common misconceptions about judges.

"It’s a never-ending source of amusement to me that if you’re not a lawyer and you don’t work at the courthouse complex, you don’t really know who we are or what we do," Thompson said.

He explained the difference between state and superior courts, pointing out that superior courts handle felonies, civil disputes, real estate matters and family and domestic relations issues. State court handles all other civil law actions not within the jurisdiction of a superior court. State court judges are considered county employees while superior court judges are state employees.

Thompson shared his experience with a recent case involving a homeowners' association suing a homeowner over an unauthorized $250,000 pool house construction, illustrating the variety of cases superior court judges handle.

Who Can Be a Superior Court Judge?

“In some areas of Georgia, we have what are called legal deserts. They are actually counties in Georgia that do not have a single attorney with an office,” Thompson said. “If you don’t have enough, you have to use people that aren’t lawyers, but for superior court, state court and juvenile court you do have to be a lawyer.”

Thompson outlined the requirements for becoming a superior court judge in Georgia: being a lawyer for at least seven years, living in the state for three years, and being at least 30 years old. However, there is no particular type of legal experience needed to be a judge, Thompson said, adding that all 11 judges come from different backgrounds from law enforcement to business litigation and criminal defense.

Judges can be appointed by the governor or elected by the public, with re-elections every four years. Like in Thompson’s case, new positions can also be created, usually in response to a growing population.

How is the court run?

Thompson runs his court with a structured rotation, handling different types of cases each week, from criminal trials to domestic disputes.

“When I was appointed by the governor, I went to the clerk of court and said I want Judge Steve Schuster’s courtroom law clerk to be my courtroom law clerk … to teach my secretary, my staff attorney and my court reporter … his system,” Thompson said.

Thompson said he hasn’t had to tweak the system in the two years he’s been using it. The five-week rotation begins with a week of domestic cases, followed by a week of civil non-domestic cases, like land disputes, defamation and divorce, a week of criminal non-jury cases including arraignments and bond forfeitures, another domestic cases week and finally a criminal jury trial week.

He joked that anyone wanting to oppose a sitting judge show have to sit through those two straight weeks of domestic cases, “9 a.m. to 5 p.m., hearing all these cases of people who hate each other’s guts.”

Thompson answered a common question about how he handles the job, especially when it comes to dealing with violent crimes.

“Somebody’s gotta do it, so it might as well be me. Kemp didn’t chase me down on horseback, lasso me and demand I do this job,” Thompson said.

He added that for domestic cases, it’s a lot like life and helping two people solve a problem they can’t manage to solve on their own.

In closing, Thompson expressed his dedication to serving the community.

"I’m honored to be a superior court judge in Cobb County. I used to be a litigator and for those 18 and a half years, I thought that was what God meant for me to do,” Thompson said. “After presiding over my first jury trial, I went home to my wife and said, ‘I’ve been wrong all these years, I think this is what God meant.’ I’m thankful every day that I’m allowed to do it and I hope I can keep doing it to serve my community.”