The Municipal Court of Atlanta is mourning the passing of Senior Judge Barbara A. Harris, who died Monday.

Judge Barbara Harris, Atlanta Municipal Court.

"Judge Harris' passing is a great loss to the Municipal Court of Atlanta and the city as a whole," Chief Judge Christopher T. Portis said Tuesday in a written statement. "Until her final days, her commitment to service was unwavering. The Municipal Court of Atlanta bench and court staff extend our deepest condolences to all of Judge Barbara A. Harris' family, friends, and loved ones. It is our prayer that Judge Harris' spirit of service will last well beyond her years and that her commitment to people will continue to inspire."

Colleagues remembered her friendship, her mentoring and her professional leadership. One said she kept pictures of all their children in her office. She was "literally the reason I considered being a judge at the court," Judge Ardra Bey said in an email.

She was "a legal giant in our local community," Judge Crystal A. Gaines said in an email. "She was a jurist of great scholarship and integrity. Without a doubt she leaves huge footprints to be filled."

Communications director Tialer Maxwell shared the statements with the Daily Report, saying the 10 judges and staff members are "in shock." She said she did not know the cause of death.

The grief is compounded for the court that hears traffic and other misdemeanor cases. The bench lost another member Friday. Senior Judge Elaine L. Carlisle was killed by a car crash on Interstate 75.

The chief judge had just written a similar statement Monday on Carlisle's death. He expressed "our deepest condolences" to the "family, friends, and loved ones" of both judges, and shared his prayers for their comfort.

Both judges had retired from full-time work but remained active senior members of the court until the end, assisting their colleagues as needed. They had both served the court since the 1980s, appointed by then-Mayor Andrew Young, a former U.S. congressman and President Jimmy Carter's United Nations ambassador.

Another woman traffic court judge Young appointed during that era, retired Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears, went on to become the first woman on the Georgia Supreme Court.

Sears, now a partner with Smith, Gambrell & Russell, shared memories of Harris in an email Tuesday.

"In addition to having all the best qualities of a really good jurist such as intelligence, patience, open-mindedness, tact, courage, understanding, compassion and decisiveness, Barbara could be a lot of fun," Sears said. "Here's just one example. In 1980 or 1981, we were both in Chicago for a legal convention.  I don't remember which one. We were walking down State Street together in very expensive new designer high heel shoes, when it started to snow…hard. So that our shoes didn't get messed up, we decided to take them off and walk down the street in our stocking feet, slipping and sliding and laughing as we went. But our shoes survived the ordeal, even though we both barely made it. It was wonderful to be able to spend so much time early in my career with a woman who thought like I did."

In 1992, Harris became the first woman to serve as chief judge for the Municipal Court of Atlanta, a post she held for 10 years, Portis said. Harris was an original founding member of the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys and a member of the Gate City Bar Association.

Portis said Harris "mentored countless professionals and dedicated her life to the service of others."

Atlanta Council President Felicia A. Moore remembered both judges in a statement released Tuesday afternoon.

"This week we mourn the passing of former City of Atlanta Municipal Court Judges Barbara Harris and Elaine Carlisle," Moore said. "The passing of both individuals within days of each other has left us in disbelief. Those who knew them beyond the bench will forever recount their commitment to the City. Judge Harris was considered the architect of the Atlanta Community Court, a division of our court system that is committed to a belief in rehabilitation. Judge Carlisle dedicated her career to improving the court system to ensure equality under the law for all citizens. Both Judge Harris and Judge Carlisle represented the judicial branch with dignity, and they will be sorely missed."