Fulton County Juvenile Court (FCJC) is pleased to announce that two of its judges and court partners have been recognized with awards for their work with court-involved children. These distinguished awards are a reflection of the excellence with which these individuals undertake their duties and their commitment to serving the best interests of vulnerable youth and families.
Fulton County Juvenile Court’s Chief Presiding Judge, Juliette W. Scales, received the Judge Romae Turner Powell Judicial Service Award from the Atlanta Bar Association’s Judicial Section during a ceremony on May 30. This prestigious award recognizes a judge who has made a significant contribution to the judiciary and is named in honor of the late Honorable Judge Romae Turner Powell.
Born in Atlanta in 1926, Romae Powell graduated from Howard University in 1950 before starting a private law firm on Auburn Avenue. During this time she volunteered her legal services to Georgia’s NAACP to work on desegregation-related cases while also serving African-American families of low means. In 1968 she accepted an appointment from Judge John S. Langford, Jr. to serve as the full-time referee of Fulton County Juvenile Court, making her the first African-American to hold that position.
In 1973, then Referee Powell was appointed as a full-time Juvenile Court Judge, making her the first African-American female judge in the state of Georgia. She served until her death in 1990 at the age of 63. The Romae T. Powell Juvenile Justice Center, opened in 2003, is named in her memory.
“I am certainly honored to have received the Judge Romae Turner Powell Judicial Service Award,” said Chief Judge Scales in a message to FCJC staff. “[Judge Powell] was truly a titan amongst us and as we travel through this building named after her, it is important that we do not lose sight of the vision she worked so hard to forge.”
Judge Powell’s vision is embodied in Juvenile Court’s mission statement: first, to protect children and the community in matters brought before the court, to rehabilitate children, and to restore families; and second, to create opportunities for the community partners, and stakeholders to actively engage in this mission.
FCJC staff and the Court’s partners have taken this mission to heart. The State Bar of Georgia’s Child Protection and Advocacy Section recently recognized Presiding Judge Bradley Boyd and Nathan Hayes, a senior attorney in the Office of the Child Attorney, with the Judge Willie J. Lovett Jr. Award for Advancing Juvenile Law.
Named in honor of FCJC’s own dearly departed Judge Lovett, the award honors individuals working in the Juvenile Justice System with a history of outstanding advocacy on behalf of children. In partnership with The Supreme Court of Georgia Committee on Justice for Children, the Child Protection and Advocacy Section of the Georgia State Bar presented the awards during their conference in Florida on June 7.
Ms. Anissa Patton, an attorney in the Office of the Child Attorney, was also recognized during the June 7 conference with the Chief Justice Hines Award. Presented by the Supreme Court of Georgia’s Committee on Justice for Children and the Office of Child Advocate, the award honors individuals working in the Juvenile Justice System with a history of outstanding advocacy and commitment on behalf of children.
Please join FCJC in congratulating these award recipients for all they do in service of court involved children and families.
FCJC is a court of rehabilitation and a statewide leader in utilizing evidence-based best practices to constructively address the factors that precipitate court involvement- allowing youth to transcend their present circumstances and grow to become healthy adults. Situated in the heart of Georgia’s most populous county, FCJC jurisdiction covers 14 municipalities, five unincorporated communities and two school districts.
The mission of Fulton County Juvenile Court is: first, to protect children and the community in matters brought before the court, to rehabilitate children, and to restore families; and second, to create opportunities for the community partners, and stakeholders to actively engage in this mission.
