In the courtroom, attorney Robert Walker Jr. had been on both sides.

For much of his life, he felt a calling both to help clear criminals from the streets and to represent people who couldn't afford an attorney.

Kimberly Smith/AJC (ENLARGE)

Gwinnett County's newest Magistrate Court judge, Robert D. Walker Jr., says he has 'by far the best job I've ever had.'

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As a young man, he had served as an Air Force prosecutor. And in recent years, Walker has been on the "A" list of defense attorneys tapped by Gwinnett County judges to try the most serious and complex cases. More often than not, he was on the winning side.

But case after case, trial after trial, Walker was struck by what he couldn't do: decide a defendant's fate. "I wanted to do that," he said recently.

This month, the 43-year-old father of three got his wish, becoming Gwinnett's first full-time African-American judge.

His appointment to the Magistrate Court would not have happened, however, if Walker had not been the most qualified, Chief Magistrate George H. Hutchinson III said.

"Diversity was an important thing to consider, but Robert is where he is because of his skill, ability and experience," said Hutchinson. "This was a matter of consistent performance over years and years and case after case."

A graduate of the University of Florida law school, Walker honed his legal skills in the Air Force, where he served eight years in the Judge Advocate General Corps, first as a defense counselor, then a base prosecutor and deputy staff judge advocate.

He was stationed at the Onizuka Air Station in Sunnyvale, Calif., when he met and married his wife, Melissa, in 1997.

By that time, Walker said, it was time to settle down. He left the Air Force and with his wife returned home to Atlanta, where Walker's parents and three siblings still lived.

Not only would he not have to worry about transferring every two to four years, but his wife could continue her career as a schoolteacher.

Walker landed a job with the trial division of the Fulton County district attorney's office. It was 1998, the same year Lawrence Lewis joined the staff as a prosecutor, and the two became friends.

"His demeanor puts people at ease so you get drawn in," Lewis said.

In 2000, Lewis left the DA's office to go into private practice and encouraged his friend to do the same.

Walker struck out on his own the following year, making criminal defense his bread and butter and settling in Grayson. Fellow attorneys and judges began to take notice.

He was on time. He was well prepared. In a pinch, they could count on him.

His reputation preceded him, said Lyle K. Porter, president of the criminal defense section of the Gwinnett County Bar Association.

"When you have somebody new and they immediately make an impression, you hear about them," said Porter.

Last year, Walker and Porter worked together in defending a group of high schoolers in an armed-robbery trial.

The minimum sentence was 10 years for each count. At the end of the five-day jury trial, Walker made an impassioned plea. The teens, he told the jury, hadn't intended the robbery and therefore the punishment was too harsh. It was as if he spoke for his own three children. Some jurors wept.

The teens were acquitted on 14 of 16 counts.

"I left that experience knowing everything that had been said about him was true," said Porter. "He's a damn good trial lawyer."

Walker knew his work as a defense and prosecuting attorney was important. He felt good about his contribution to society. But he longed to do more.

He applied for a Juvenile Court judgeship and was turned down. Soon after that, he applied for a job on the Superior Court bench. That position went to someone else, too.

In January, Walker learned Gwinnett County was looking for a magistrate judge and added his name to the list of 24 applicants.

Early this month, Hutchinson made the call Walker had been waiting on.

"I thought he was calling to say thanks for the application," Walker recalled, "but he said congratulations. I was shocked."

He may have been the only one.

"I wasn't surprised," said his friend Lewis. "I knew who was on the list, and while I have a lot of respect for those [others], I knew no one else had successfully tried as many Superior Court cases as he had."

After just two weeks on the bench, Walker sat in a borrowed office and talked about what it meant to be part of history.

"This is a very diverse county, and all parts should have representation in the judicial system," he said. "It's apparent that change needs to come and hopefully it'll keep coming."

He acknowledged he had a lot to learn but said he's up to the challenge.

As magistrate judge, Walker said, he will handle any criminal or civil matters not in the exclusive jurisdiction of State or Superior Court. That means he'll be the first contact with law enforcement for preliminary hearings as well as search and arrest warrants.

On the civil side, he will handle claims under the statutory limit of $15,000, landlord and tenant disputes, garnishments and weddings — a duty that makes him smile.

He also will fill in for State Court and Superior Court judges.

"This is by far the best job I've ever had," he said. "I get a dry run of doing everything."