Fulton County Probate Judge Pinkie Toomer. (Courtesy photo)

Judge Pinkie T. Toomer of the Fulton County Probate Court has told the Daily Report she will retire when her current term expires at the end of the year, meaning her successor will be decided by voters in the May 19 election.

Qualifying for the race runs occurs March 2-6.

Toomer, a West Virginia native, received her undergraduate degree and a master's in urban affairs from Boston University and, in 1976, a law degree from Emory University School of Law. The next year, she started work at the probate court, first as a secretary, then a law clerk, then as the court's chief deputy clerk. She became a part-time magistrate in 1997.

In 2002, she assumed the top post when Probate Judge Floyd Propst retired in the middle of his term. She won full terms from voters in 2004 and subsequent elections.

In 2005, Toomer provided space for volunteer lawyers from the Atlanta Bar Association to start a clinic to help citizens with estate planning.

As head of the office that handled marriages and gun licenses for Georgia's largest county, Toomer occasionally found herself sued by plaintiffs challenging the rules.

In 2015, as observers expected a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that would overturn laws against same-sex marriage, Toomer told the Daily Report her office was preparing modified marriage applications. They replaced, for example, "bride" and "groom" with "applicant 1″ and "applicant 2," and instead of "maiden name," will say "name given at birth" or "name on birth certificate."

When the high court did legalize same-sex marriage, Toomer and other judges held ceremonies for couples later that day.