Cobb County voters have a wide range of judicial picks on the June 9 ballot with a half-dozen hopefuls vying for the Superior Court bench, where two seats are opening up and sitting Judge Reuben Green is facing a challenger.

Another half-dozen are hoping to move into the State Court seat being vacated by retiring Judge Toby Prodgers at year's end.

Stepping down from the Superior Court bench are Judges Lark Ingram, who was appointed to the court by Gov. Zell Miller in 1995; and Stephen Schuster, who was first elected to the court in 2004.

Two candidates are hoping to take Ingram's place.

Kellie Hill has served as a Cobb magistrate judge since 2016 and oversees her own private criminal and consulting practice, The Kellie Hill Legal Group.

Hill served as a prosecutor with the Fulton County district attorney's office for 17 years and was a chief assistant DA when she was hired away by then-DeKalb DA Robert James in 2012. In 2014 she went into private practice, first as managing attorney at Atlanta's Chestnut Firm then at her own practice.

In 2016, Hill ran for a seat on the Cobb County State Court bench, losing to now-Judge John Morgan.  

Hill is a New Jersey native who earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Pennsylvania and her law degree from Rutgers University School of Law. She joined the State Bar of Georgia in 1991.

Daniele Johnson is a family law law specialist and guardian ad litem, and in 2012, she established her own practice, Daniele Johnson & Associates, in Marietta. 

Johnson began her legal career in 1997 as a prosecutor with the Dauphin County, Pennsylvania district attorney's office before moving to Cobb County in 1999. She earned her undergraduate degree at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and her law degree at Widener University Delaware Law School in Wilmington, Delaware. She joined the State Bar of Georgia in 2001.

Three candidates are facing off for Schuster's seat:

John Greco maintains a solo practice largely centered on criminal defense in Marietta. His campaign website said he's represented more than 6,000 clients in his 35 years of practice. In 2015 he was one of three finalists vying to be appointed chief judge of the Cobb County Magistrate Court, a job that ultimately went to now-DA Joyette Holmes.  

Greco is a graduate of the Emory University School of Law and joined the State Bar of Georgia in 1984.

Jason Marbutt is a senior Cobb County ADA who has spent 15 years as a prosecutor and specializes in white collar crime, public integrity cases and elder abuse. He has drafted legislation relating to abuse of the elderly and disabled, and according to his campaign website, he was honored by the Georgia House and Senate for his work in that field.  

Marbutt is a native of Austell; he received his undergraduate degree at the University of Pennsylvania and his law degree from the Emory School of Law. He joined the State Bar of Georgia in 2004. 

Greg Shenton is the principal of Marietta's Shenton Law, where he specializes in business, commercial and construction litigation and insurance defense work.  

He began his legal practice at Morris, Manning & Martin, staying there five years before moving to insurance defense firm Fields Howell, where he served as a partner until opening his own firm in 2012.

Shenton got his undergraduate degree at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky, and his law degree at the Emory University School of Law. He joined the State Bar of Georgia in 2000.

Incumbent and current Chief Judge Reuben Green was appointed to the bench in 2010 by Gov. Sonny Perdue.  

Prior to his appointment Green served as a prosecutor with the Cobb County DA's office and as a special assistant U.S. attorney in Georgia's Northern District. Before that, he was in private practice at King & Spalding. 

Green served in the U.S. Marine Corps before attending undergraduate school at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon; he received his law degree at the Emory University School of Law. He joined the State Bar of Georgia in 2000.

Green is being challenged by Angela Brown, who currently serves as a part-time Cobb County Magistrate Court judge and principal of the Moore Brown Law Group, where she handles criminal and family law matters; Brown has also served as a part-time magistrate in DeKalb County. 

Brown began her legal career as an associate with Davis Wright Tremaine in Seattle, then served as a prosecutor in King County, Washington; Union County, New Jersey; and Cobb County.

In 2016 she launched an unsuccessful bid to unseat DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Gail Flake. 

Brown received her undergraduate degree at Brown University and her law degree at the University of San Diego Law School in 1993. She joined the State Bar of Georgia in 2001.   

State Court hopefuls

Joe Atkins is of counsel with Marietta civil defense firm Downey & Cleveland, where he's represented local government and businesses on such matters as land use and zoning disputes, telecommunications and construction issues. He is the attorney for the Marietta Civil Service Board and for 13 years served in the Cobb County Attorney's office as deputy and interim county attorney. Atkins has also served on the Cobb County Ethics Board.  

Atkins is a Georgia native who received his undergraduate degree at the University of Georgia and his law degree at the University of Georgia School of Law. 

Katherine "Trina" Griffiths is a Marietta solo who specializes in criminal and DUI defense. She began her legal career as a law clerk for the Cobb Superior Court and in civil practice, then spent 10 years as a prosecutor with the Cobb County solicitor's office.   

Griffiths then crossed over the criminal defense, spending eight years with defense boutique Stein & Ward, before opening her own shop. 

She earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Florida, and attended law school at Mercer University Walter F. George School of Law. 

Scott Halperin is a Marietta solo who handles criminal defense and currently serves as a child advocate and guardian ad litem for the Cobb County Juvenile Court, and public defender for the city of Doraville. 

Halperin began his legal career as a lawyer for the Georgia Law Center for the Homeless and the Atlanta Legal Aid Society, and has handled personal injury and civil litigation.

Halperin received his undergraduate degree at the University of Colorado Boulder, and his law degree at the Georgia State University College of Law. He joined the State Bar of Georgia in 2001.

Mazi Mazloom is the principal of Marietta's Mazloom Law Firm, a criminal and DUI defense practice; he also serves as an associate municipal court judge for the cities of Marietta and Roswell, and he has served by appointment as a temporary Cobb State Court judge.

Mazloom began his legal career practicing bankruptcy, personal injury, immigration and criminal defense law, then served as an assistant Cobb County solicitor for a couple years before joining the DA's office as a prosecutor. He left to start his own practice in 2004.

Mazloom came to the United States from Iran as a child in 1979. He received his undergraduate degree at Georgia State University and his law degree at Atlanta's John Marshall Law School; he joined the State Bar of Georgia in 1998.  

Diana Simmons is currently a deputy chief assistant Cobb County solicitor, where she has served since 2010. Prior to coming to Cobb County, she served as a prosecutor with Clayton County solicitor's office, where she headed up the domestic violence unit.

A Savannah native, Simmons received her undergraduate degree at Berry College and her law degree at John Marshall Law School; she joined the State Bar of Georgia in 2009.

David Willingham is the principal of Marietta's Willingham Law Firm, where he specializes in DUI and criminal defense and family law. 

Willingham began his legal career in criminal defense at what was then Leonard, Rickman & Holloway before signing on as a prosecutor with the Cobb County DA's office. He left in 2013 to start his own firm.

Willingham is originally from Snellville; he earned his undergraduate degree at Georgia State University and his law degree at John Marshall Law School. Willingham joined the State Bar of Georgia in 2008.