According to a news release posted to the Cobb County website, Chief Magistrate Judge Brendan Murphy appointed three part-time judges to Cobb County Magistrate Court. The judge-designates are Rita Cherry, Toqeer Chouhan and Amanda Perez.
One of those judges-designates, Rita M. Cherry, previously served on Cobb’s Magistrate Court in 2015.
The Superior Court of the Cobb Judicial Circuit, which approves judges selected for Magistrate Court, unanimously confirmed Judge Murphy’s appointments.
The following bio of Cherry, a resident of Smyrna, was published in the news release:
Cherry received her Bachelor of Science degree in Business from Grambling State University and Juris Doctorate degree from John Marshall Law School. Her career began under the leadership and mentoring of the Hon. Leah Ward Sears, former Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court, for whom she clerked as an intern.
During her career, Cherry formed her own law firm where she represented clients in Employment and Labor cases. She served as a defense attorney with the Cobb County Circuit Defender’s office representing indigent defendants in criminal cases. She worked as an assistant district attorney with the Fulton County District Attorney’s office and thereafter a senior assistant city attorney for the City of Atlanta, where she litigated civil cases and constitutional issues on behalf of municipal government and officials. Cherry also taught law as an adjunct law professor for Georgia Perimeter College.
“Cobb County is home and I am honored to serve,” said Cherry.
Toqeer Chouhan’s bio reads as follows:
Chouhan earned his law degree from Mercer University Walter F. George School of Law and has a Master of Arts in Business Administration (MBA) from Kennesaw State University. He obtained his undergraduate degree in business administration with dual concentrations in finance and marketing from Berry College in Rome, GA.
Chouhan has been a member of the Georgia Bar since 2005 and is the managing partner of the Chouhan Law Firm, LLC in Cobb County. Through his private practice, he has extensive experience in business and corporate issues as well general civil litigation, domestic relations, criminal, personal injury and collections matters.
He is an active member of the Cobb County Bar Association and is a resident of Smyrna.
The news release gave the following biographical information on Amanda Perez:
Judge-designate Amanda Perez has been an attorney practicing in Georgia since 2009.
Perez has handled domestic cases, civil litigation, immigration and criminal defense, particularly specializing in matters where there can be some impact on immigration status. Her emphasis is on helping vulnerable clients navigate the legal system.
She has also served in several roles which are in frequent contact with the judicial system, such as probation officer, bail bondsman, process server and real estate agent. In her private practice Perez represented injured parties recovering unpaid labor as well as negotiations for clients with their creditors.
As a resident of Cobb County for more than 30 years and a criminal justice graduate from Georgia State University, Perez has had ties with Georgia nearly her entire life. She obtained her J.D. from John Marshall Law School. She is a member of American Immigration Lawyers Association. In her spare time, she is a dedicated softball mom and motivator to her future baseball slugger. She is a resident of east Cobb.
