NAML Congratulates Judge Fatima El-Amin on Historic Appointment as Chief Judge of Juvenile Court

In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful

(ATLANTA, GA - 1/4/2023) The National Association of Muslim Lawyers (NAML) today congratulated Judge Fatima El-Amin on her historic appointment as a Chief Judge of the Dekalb County Juvenile Court in Georgia. Judge El-Amin, who has served on the court since 2014, is the first American Muslim appointed to serve as the chief judge of any court system in the United States.

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In a statement, NAML President Edward Ahmed Mitchell, Esq. said:

"On behalf of NAML members across America, we congratulate our colleague, role model and friend Judge Fatima El-Amin on this historic achievement. Her appointment as the Chief Judge of the Dekalb County Juvenile Court is not only a historic moment for the Georgia Muslim community and the State of Georgia, but the American Muslim community and the United States.

"We are confident that Judge El-Amin's values, expertise and experience will continue to enrich the judicial system far beyond her courtroom. We are also hopeful that Judge El-Amin's service will inspire more Muslim Americans to pursue careers in various areas of law where our community's perspective is desperately needed, including the family law system.

"We pray that Allah guides Judge El-Amin in her new role. NAML looks forward to continuing to collaborate with Judge El-Amin so that Muslim legal professionals across the United States can continue to benefit from her experiences, wisdom and guidance."

Judge El-Amin is the daughter of Imam Plemon El-Amin, the former leader of Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam, and Sandra Jones El-Amin, the former Principal of Mohammed Schools of Atlanta. Judge El-Amin attended W.D. Mohammed High School in DeKalb County, completed her undergraduate studies at Harvard University, and received her law degree from Emory University School of Law.

Judge El-Amin has served as a full Juvenile Court judge since 2014. She presides over dependency, delinquent, and traffic cases. She also presides over the DeKalb County Juvenile Drug Treatment Court, Rebound. Judge El-Amin also sits by designation in the DeKalb County Superior Court.

A former supervising child advocate attorney, Judge El-Amin started her legal career as an assistant district attorney in DeKalb County. Judge El-Amin is the recipient of the NAACP DeKalb Thurgood Marshall Award and the DeKalb County Schools Living Legend Award. She is a graduate of Leadership Georgia and Leadership DeKalb and a member of the Gate City Bar Association, the DeKalb Bar Association, the Council for Juvenile Court Judges, the DeKalb Lawyers Association, and the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys.