Fulton County Judges

• Judge Bensonetta Tipton Lane
• Judge Gail S. Tusan
• Judge Tom Campbell

Judge Bensonetta Tipton Lane

185 Central Avenue, SW
Justice Center Tower
Suite T-1955/ Courtroom 1D
Atlanta, GA 30303
Fax Number: (404)-335-2864

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-Judge Lane is currently serving as a family division. She has also served as a visiting judge for the Georgia Supreme Court and as a full time judge for the City Court of Atlanta. Prior to her ascent to the bench, she practiced law with The Law Project of R. Boult, et. al. and in solo practice. During her legal career her concentration was civil rights and employment law. After a full trial, she achieved one of the (then) largest class action settlements against the State of Georgia in the case of Kennedy vs. Crittenden, a race and classification discrimination action against Central State Hospital in Milledgeville, Georgia, in which she represented 2,400 African American employees in over 100 job classifications. Judge Lane was born in Washington D.C. but she attended elementary school in Colorado before graduating high school in Connecticut. She attended New York University, where she achieved her BA degree, and went on to the University of Massachusetts, where she achieved a master’s degree in community-based education. She then attended the University Of Virginia School Of Law, where she received a juris doctorate degree in 1976. Judge Lane has been active in her profession. She is a founder of the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys. She is one of several founding members of the Atlanta chapters of the National Employment Lawyers Association and the National Conference of Black Lawyers. She has served on the board of directors for the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Association and is a member of the Atlanta Bar Association, the National Association of Women Judges and of the Gate City Bar Association, where she previously served on the executive committee. In the community, Judge Lane founded the Centennial Justice Project. She has been a member of the boards of Metro Fair Housing Services, Inc., and Alternative Life Paths Program, Inc.; The National Conference for Community and Justice; Sisterlove, Inc.; and Alternative Life Paths Program, Inc., an organization which shelters and mentors young people who have already experienced the penal system. She has been on the advisory board and an annual judge for the Do the Write Thing Project, an organization that addresses the issue of violence in middle schools. She is a member of the Leadership Atlanta Class of 1997. Judge Lane has be honored to be the recipient of awards, such as the Founders Award from the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys, the Outstanding Service Award from the Committee for State Employees Rights, the R.E. Thomas Civil Rights Award from the Gate City Bar Association, the Lawyer of the Year Award from the National Conference of Black Lawyers and the Judge With a Heart Award from the Minority Judges of Georgia.

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Judge Gail S. Tusan

185 Central Avenue, SW
Justice Center Tower
Suite T-8955/ Courtroom 8F
Atlanta, GA 30303
Fax: (404)-302-8524

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Education
-Post Graduate Work, (1990-1996), National Judicial College
-J.D. (1981), George Washington University National Law Center
-B.A. Psychology (1978), University of California at Los Angeles

Teaching Experience
-Group Leader, Emory Law School Class of 2005, Orientation to Professionalism
-Faculty Member, Georgia Institute of Continuing Judicial Education and National Judicial College (teaching courses in the United States, Philippines, and Russia)
-Former Law Professor (adjunct), Georgia State University School of Law, Research, Writing, and Advocacy Course

Attorney Experience
-Ten years of federal and state trial and appellate litigation experience, including a clerkship with the United States Justice Department in Washington, D.C. and Kilpatrick Stockton, LLC.

Judicial Experience
-22 years established track record as accessible, hardworking, and resourceful jurist
-May 1995-Present, Superior Court of Fulton County
-July 1992-May 1995, State Court of Fulton County
-August 1990-July 1992, City Court of Atlanta
-1986-1990, Fulton County Magistrate
-1984-1986, City of Atlanta Administrative Law Judge

Community Service
-Co Chair, M. Agnes Jones Young Ambassador to Haiti Build a School Project
-National Board Member, Camp Fire USA, Moderator, First Congregational Church United Church of Christ
-Convener, Agape Community Outreach Shelter Project
-Co-Convener, Loving Hands Quilting Society (benefits homeless women and children)
-Vice President (Program Chair), Buckhead Cascade City Chapter, Links, Inc.
-Co-Founder, Project Legacy (Interactive self-esteem and personal development curriculum designed to target at-risk pre-adolescent girls)
-Leader, Camp Fire USA youth group
-Volunteer Lawyer, Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation
-YWCA Community Woman (mentor), YWCA Project Redirection (big sister Program for teenage mothers)
-Co-Director, Camp Anytown (National Council of Christians and Jews)

Law Related Committees
-Member, Georgia Commission on Family Violence
-Georgia Commission on Child Support, Past Chair, Georgia Supreme Court’s Commission on Continuing Lawyer Competency
-Chair, Judicial Education and New Judge Orientation of Fulton County Superior Court (“FCSC”)
-Past Charter Judge, FCSC Family Division

Past Board Affiliations
-President, Board of Directors of Camp Fire USA, Georgia Council
-President, Atlanta Legal Aid Society and Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys
-Vice President, Legal Clinic for the Homeless
-Chair, Personnel Committee, YWCA of Greater Atlanta
-Board Member, Georgia Association for Women Lawyers
-Law Day Coordinator, Morris Brandon Elementary PTA

Awards
-Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change Community Service Peace and Justice Award
-Georgia Law Related Education Supporter of the Year
-Charter Inductee, John Muir High School (Judge Tusan’s alma mater) Alumni Hall of Fame
-Member, YWCA Academy of Women of Achievements
-Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Nu Lambda Omega Distinguished Working Mother
-Recognized Civic Leader, Alumnus, Leadership Atlanta
-Outstanding Young Person of Atlanta
-Ebony Magazine’s Young Leader of the Future
-Georgia Informer, as one of Georgia’s 50 Most Influential Black Women

Other Projects
-Legal Expert, Montel Williams Show
-Author, Misplaced (debut novel)
-Founder, Always Wanted to (“AWT”) Dance Troup

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Judge Tom Campbell

185 Central Avenue, SW
Justice Center Tower
Suite T-4705 / Courtroom 4B
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
404-730-8380: Fax Number

Staff

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Judge Campbell was appointed by Governor Sonny Perdue to the Fulton County Superior Court Bench, in May, 2004. Prior to that, he served in the State House of Representatives from 1989 through 2004.

Education
J.D. and B.A., University of Georgia

Attorney Experience
-Private practice of law from 1965 through 2004.

Law Related Committees
-Georgia Bar Association
-Atlanta Bar Association
-Gate City Bar Association
-North Fulton Bar Association
-Sandy Springs Bar Association

Awards
-Award for Republican Legislator of the Year (2004)

Past Board Afilliations
-North Fulton Regional Hospital (Chairman)
-Roswell Rotary Club
-Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce
-Northside Bank
-Roswell Visitors and Convention Bureau
-Chattahoochee Nature Center
-Resources for Retarded Adults
-Cottage School