Cobb Superior Court Judge Sonja N. Brown received the Distinguished Judicial Award during the 2025 State Bar of Georgia Annual Meeting held on Friday, June 6, 2025.

The award was presented by Young Lawyers Division (YLD) President Kenneth Mitchell, Jr.

According to the news release from the county:

The award honors members of the judiciary who actively support and encourage the professional growth of young lawyers while also demonstrating steadfast support of the YLD President’s leadership throughout their term. Judge Brown’s exemplary mentorship, service-minded leadership, and consistent engagement with the legal and broader community made her a natural choice for this prestigious recognition.

“I love serving Cobb County both on and off the bench,” said Judge Brown, quoted in the county news release. “I am honored to be recognized by the YLD, and I remain committed to mentoring young lawyers and encouraging meaningful community service throughout our profession.”

This is the second award she has received this year. Earlier in the year, Judge Brown was honored for her dedication to volunteerism during the 25th Annual Justice Robert Benham Awards for Community Service, held on April 15, 2025.

To read more about Judge Brown’s biography and current activities, follow this link to the county news release.

What is Cobb County Superior Court?

In Georgia, the Superior Court is one of three trial courts found in each judicial circuit.  The other two trial courts are State Courts and Probate Courts.

If you watch TV or movie courtroom dramas you’ll be familiar with the most high-profile role of the court. A Superior Court in Georgia would be the court where a murder trial would be conducted.

So the Superior Court conducts felony trials.

But it also handles a number of other types of cases.

The Georgia Superior Courts website describes the varied functions as follows:

The Superior Courts of Georgia is a court of general jurisdiction handling both civil and criminal law actions. Superior Court Judges preside over cases involving misdemeanors, contract disputes, premises liability, and various other actions. In addition, the Superior Court has exclusive equity jurisdiction over all cases of divorce, title to land, and felonies involving jury trials, including death penalty cases.

How are Superior Court judges chosen?

Superior Court judges are elected for four-year terms in nonpartisan elections.  If a judge resigns or retires, the governor will appoint a replacement to serve out the judge’s unexpired term.

The requirements to run for a Superior Court seat are that the candidate be at least thirty years old, has been a Georgia citizen for at least three years, and the candidate has practiced law for at least seven years.

How do I learn about Superior Court judges before elections?

Judicial races are among the most difficult elections for the public to research, but the internet has made it easier.

For Cobb County judicial elections, there are several media outlets that cover the courts and candidates, including here at the Cobb County Courier, the Marietta Daily Journal, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and East Cobb News.

For biographies of judicial candidates, you can also visit the campaign web pages of the candidates.  Those biographies are, of course, written to put the candidate in the best light, but it’s a good starting point for determining the candidate’s educational and employment background, and a little about their judicial philosophy.

To get a list of the candidates, visit the Georgia Secretary of State page for qualified candidate information at https://sos.ga.gov/qualifying-candidate-information

Superior Court is considered a state office, so you would select “State” on the Office Type pulldown menu, the General Primary/Special Election under the Election menu, and “Non Partisan” under the Party menu.  Then under Offices scroll down the pulldown menu until you find the Superior Court race you are looking for.