New Judge Seeks To Be Fair
Alison Burleson, newly appointed Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit Judge, chose the Jasper County Courthouse as the home of her circuit court office—a fitting choice since it was the location where she tried her first case as an assistant district attorney on the Ocmulgee Circuit more than eight years ago.
The Ocmulgee Circuit lost two judges last year, the Honorable Judge James Cline to death and the Honorable Judge Hulane George to retirement. It is important to note that prior to retirement Judge George was the first and only woman to serve on the five-judge circuit.
In January, Gov. Nathan Deal appointed two new judges, Alison Burleson and Brenda Trammell, another historical appointment since both are women. So just who are these ladies of the law? Where did their ambitions begin? How did they rise through the ranks?
Two months into her term as judge and all settled into her new digs (which she shares with her thorough secretary Vickie Lynn) on the second floor of the Jasper County Courthouse, I had the opportunity to sit down with Judge Burleson for a tete-a-tete.
The native Floridian was born in Pensacola and raised in Tallahassee by two educators— a high school football coaching dad and a mother who was involved with law enforcement and public service early on in her career. Alison is the eldest of three with two younger brothers for whom she always sets the example.
Instead of making the obvious and easiest choice to attend hometown universities such Florida State University or Florida A & M, she opted to spread her wings and chose Agnes Scott College in Atlanta for her undergraduate studies. Early on she narrowed her career interests down to becoming a lawyer or a history professor.
“I had a love of history and the law as a student. It was really about finding which suited me best,” noted Judge Burleson.
While she loved history, there were thoughts of spending all her time doing research which is not at all uncommon with a career in law as well, but the idea of making a case in court intrigued her. So to get a feel for a life in law, the new graduate with a bachelor’s degree in history took a job working for the Atlanta law firm of King & Spalding—and the rest was history. Shortly after, she enrolled in law school at Georgia State University (GSU).
“I have always been interested in the public service aspect of law and didn’t see not being in public service,” commented the judge. “I wanted to be in court and interact with people.”
That sentiment can largely be credited to her upbringing, in particular the influence of her mother who served as a court advocate when Alison was young.
She fondly remembers apprehensively joining the mock trial team at GSU but soon after envisioned a career in law coming into full view. In her third year, Alison Burleson took an internship with the Dekalb County District Attorney’s Office which is where she landed her first job after earning her law degree in 2000.
A co-worker in the Dekalb DA Office was elected as Solicitor-General of Dekalb County and brought Alison on board to serve as Chief Assistant Solicitor-General. As fate would have it, her cohort was not re-elected to that position and so went Alison’s job as Chief Assistant.
“It was good and bad when the solicitor-general wasn’t re-elected. Bad that I was out of a job but good because it lead me to the place I am now.”
Having heard about a job prospect in Morgan County with the Ocmulgee Circuit, she investigated further and was eventually named Assistant District Attorney working primarily in Morgan County.
When asked about the change of pace in leaving the frantic city life of Atlanta for the rural feel of the Ocmulgee area, she responded by saying, “it clicked.”
“It was a new and different experience and I really liked the intricate interaction amongst the community.”
As an attorney and now a judge, Alison prides herself on trying to always do the right thing.
“I have been tough when I had to be but always in fairness,” she noted.
“I want people to know that above all else I want to treat people the way I would want to be treated.”
Just another grain of wisdom she traces back to her mother and her third grade sack lunches. She chuckles at the memory of her and her two brothers picking up their sack lunches in the morning off the counter top before rushing off to school, and later finding handwritten notes on the outside from their mother. Most notable and often written was the phrase “golden rule” which was key in her family as her parents instilled in them to always be mindful of others by thoughts, words, and deeds.
Though she and her brothers would find those handwritten notes embarrassing as youth among their peers at the lunch table, the literature certainly seemed to have served their purpose where Alison is concerned. Those family principles taught and reinforced decades ago are now being put into practice as Judge Burleson dons the black robe and grabs the gavel to—in a legal sense—judge others.
In her new role on the circuit, she is finding the civil side of the law new, exciting and hopes to continue to do it for many years to come. If by some chance one finds him or herself before Judge Burleson in court, win or lose, hopefully “you will never feel like you were treated unfairly.”
