Judge Mary Staley Clark, who has served as a Cobb County judge since 1982, has announced her retirement to take effect on May 1.
Governor Brian Kemp will appoint a successor to serve the remainder of Clark’s term, which runs through 2024.
“It will take time to adjust to not being on the bench every day. Of course, I’ll continue to help as a senior judge, but I am looking forward to getting married this spring and being able to spend more time with my parents and family,” Clark said in a statement.
“My parents raised me to be honest, work hard, study hard and be kind and courageous. They put me on the path I’ve been so blessed to travel these 40 years. And, of course, my late husband Chuck Clark was a great source of strength, love and support,” she said.
Without opposition, Clark was elected to every position she ever held and she was the first female elected to any judgeship in Cobb County, according to a Cobb County statement.
Clark said, “I am thankful for so much. I am thankful for the vision and courage Tom Charron showed in hiring female prosecutors for the first time in the office’s history, and I am thankful that the Mental Health Court and Drug Treatment Court helped people live better lives. And I am thankful for the wonderful Cobb community that gave me the privilege to serve as a judge and administer justice these many years. Cobb is a wonderful place with the best bench in Georgia.”
She was elected to the Superior Court bench in 1992 and served as chief judge from 2005 to 2007.
An advocate and a pioneer of accountability courts, she helped establish Cobb’s Mental Health Court in 2013.
Clark now presides over Cobb’s Drug Treatment Court.
She has practiced law since 1978 when she earned her Juris Doctor at the University of Georgia and worked as a criminal prosecutor under now former Cobb District Attorney Thomas Charron.
Charron said in a statement, “She has expertly tried some of the most difficult cases over the years. I cannot think of a better trial judge.”
Before joining Cobb Superior Court, Clark was elected to the Magistrate Court in 1982 and then to Division I of State Court in 1984.
Calling her “irreplaceable,” Chief Judge Rob Leonard said of Clark in a statement, “As Chief Judge, I’ve relied upon her wisdom and depth of experience on many occasions. She will certainly be missed by everyone, and I look forward to her joining our group of distinguished Senior Judges, following her appointment by the Governor.”
Senior Judge Stephen Schuster said in a statement, “She has been a leader in promoting accountability courts. Judge Staley Clark realized there was a better way to treat those with illness than incarceration. She saved many lives and returned many in our population to be good citizens.”
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