Judge Ruby J. Thomas, a native Atlantan, holds a B.A. Degree in Psychology from Wellesley College in Massachusetts, and a J.D. from Georgia State University College of Law. She practiced law as a sole practitioner for twenty years. For five years, she served as a Judge Pro Hac Vice in DeKalb County Recorder’s Court, and since 2004, she has served as a Judge Pro Tem in DeKalb County Juvenile Court. During her law practice, she represented individuals in criminal, juvenile and domestic cases, as well as in civil litigation and probate matters. These cases have ranged from loitering to murder, and some have even attained national and international notoriety. In her capacity as Judge Pro Hac, she presided over motor vehicle cases (traffic), country ordinances and some misdemeanor cases. As a juvenile court judge, she presides over traffic cases, juvenile delinquency (criminal offenses) and deprivation matters (neglect, abuse and abandonment) where she earned an excellent reputation as a strong advocate for juveniles and their families.

To combat the rising tide of increased and deadly violence committed by and among elementary, middle and high school students, Judge Thomas founded and organized Save Our Students Academy, Inc., a youth violence prevention and enrichment program. Visit our YouTube channel for more information.

Further, she holds membership in a number of legal organizations (State Bar of Georgia, Juvenile Judges Council, DeKalb Lawyers Association) and other organizations (Friendship Baptist Church (Trustee, Deaconess, newsletter contributor, Church School member, the theater guild, and she was awarded The Trail Blazer Awardee for her creativity and innovation). She is also a member of The Links, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, and The Decatur DeKalb Drifters where she was awarded The Now Black Woman Award. Among her many other awards, she was named an Outstanding Alumna of Wellesley College with such national luminaries namely then First Lady Hillary Clinton and Secretary of State Madeline Albright and other alumnae. In addition, she was the recipient of several national and international awards for her work with youth and their families –The 2008 Justice Award of Soka Gakkai International of Toyko, Japan and The SOAR Award (Serving Others, Achieving Results) from GSU Law School. Judge Thomas has been the keynote speakers at numerable elementary and high schools, churches, other spiritual centers, civic organizations and at men’s and women’s state prisons in Georgia. She has published several magazine articles on youth, a joint book of poetry dedicated to Haiti, and she is the author of the recently published juvenile workbook, Jeremy Williams Takes A Time-Out, endorsed by such stellar public servants as the Honorable Ambassador and former Mayor of Atlanta, Andrew Young and Ms. Mira Lowe, Editor In-Chief of Jet Magazine. Click here to purchase a copy of the book! Judge Thomas is married to Dr. Roosevelt Thomas, and they have three adult children and one grandson.

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