Judge Ronald B. Ramsey, Sr. – Division B-11

Judge Ronald B. Ramsey, Sr., is the immediate past Presiding Judge of Division –B and led the court through the recent world-wide pandemic by leading a team to develop technology innovations, including virtual proceedings and other platforms that will serve the court and citizens of DeKalb County for years to come. Judge Ramsey also successfully negotiated with county leadership for relocation and construction of a new State Court – Division B, courthouse with expected occupancy in early 2025. In 2021, Judge Ramsey was also instrumental and reshaping legislation to transform the governance and equity of the court. Judge Ramsey is the immediate past District Chair for the Council of State Court Judges, where he also served as Co-Chair of the Legislative Committee.

Ramsey began his professional career in Atlanta, with the National Labor Relations Board, a federal agency, after graduating with honors from North Carolina Central University in 1981. While working full-time as a federal investigator and hearing officer, Judge Ramsey enrolled as an evening student at John Marshall Law School. Immediately upon being admitted to the State Bar of Georgia in 1992, Judge Ramsey became a member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) legal team for the ensuing two years. He also became a certified mediator during that period and remained a key member of the Justice Center of Atlanta’s mediation team for eighteen years.

Judge Ramsey left government service in 1994, to become the Southeast Regional Counsel for the Laborers International Union. During that period, he also served as an adjunct professor at John Marshall Law School. Three years later, Judge Ramsey became the Director of Labor Relations and Legal Affairs for the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office, where he served for nearly 2 years.

In 2000, the Honorable Ronald B. Ramsey, Sr. was appointed as the first African-American to serve as a Municipal Court Judge in the City of Stone Mountain, Georgia, where he served until 2007. While serving on the bench, Judge Ramsey engaged in the private practice of law in the areas of criminal defense, labor and employment, business and probate law. His mediation and arbitration services also comprised a significant portion of his practice.

In 2015, Ramsey resigned his nine-year tenure a Georgia State Senator and his ten-year tenure Chief Legal Officer for the DeKalb County School District

to accept an appointment by Governor Nathan Deal as an Associate Judge on the DeKalb County State Court.

Judge Ramsey is a past Judicial Section Chair of the historic Gate City Bar Association. Judge Ramsey is also past District 4 Representative of the American Bar Association/ Judicial Division/ National Conference of Specialized Court Judges, where he was subsequently elected to the executive committee and ultimately served a successful term as Chair of the Conference. In 2022, Judge Ramsey was the second African American Judge appointed to serve as a Judicial Outreach Liaison for the American Bar Association/ Judicial Division. Most recently, in 2023, Judge Ramsey was elected to serve on the House of Delegates for the American Bar Association.

Judge Ramsey has been married to his wife, Doris, for over 38 years and they are the parents of two adults, both of whom are graduates of the University System of Georgia.