It's been two years since DeKalb County State Court Judge Ana Maria Martinez made history by becoming Georgia's first Latina jurist to serve in a court of record.

But following her appointment by Gov. Brian Kemp in January 2022, Martinez has yet to take her foot off the proverbial pedal.

Now Martinez is sharing with the Daily Report why she's committed to improving access to justice and supporting a pipeline for aspiring minority attorneys—efforts that have earned her top honors from her cohort of judicial peers.
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'In Their Own Language'

Martinez, who ran a successful retention campaign in May, presides over the only fully bilingual DUI Court in Georgia. As for her motivation for continuing to operate the English-Spanish court, the jurist highlights the role her predecessors played in its creation.