Judge Brenda Trammell–Litigator, Mother & More
There are a myriad of descriptive phrases that could be used to describe Brenda Holbert Trammell – fierce litigator, persevering mother, equestrian enthusiast, entrepreneur – now Judge.
If you have ever had the opportunity to observe Attorney Trammell in action at the Jasper County Courthouse or in any courthouse in the Ocmulgee Circuit then you are aware that she is a thorough and dogged adversary. I know that if I ever needed counsel she would be on my “dream team” partially due to her comprehension of the law and legal system but largely due to the person she has become through her complete life experience.
Mrs. Trammell was born one of two daughters to a chicken farmer and hairstylist in Apalachee. By age 16, she was enrolled in Tift College working on a bachelor’s degree. She entered the University of Georgia’s School of Law at age 19, served as a clerk for a Decatur judge for three years, and graduated early from law school in December 1977. She began a long, storied career as a litigator in 1978.
So what exactly led her to a life of law? She recalled in her day as a youth entering college there were only two career options – becoming a lawyer or a doctor. Not having a great tolerance for science and math, she opted for law school. However, she arrived at that decision it was no misstep as Mrs. Trammell can now enjoy the fruits of her labor and further her legacy as a judge in the circuit where she fought and won the preponderance of her cases.
After 38 years as a litigator, I inquired of her most memorable cases which included Judge Trammell’s first ever case involving child support in Fulton County. She also recalled the Tim Coles death penalty case in Morgan County that had a lot of complicated layers and then there is Greene County where she has taken several of its administrative entities to task and won to their dismay.
What one may find fascinating about Judge Trammell is that while building a thriving law practice she also mothered and nurtured 10 children – yes t-e-n children most of them as a single parent. They now range in age from 31 to 18 and include a mixture of biological, international adoptees, and three inherited by marriage. There’s Andy, Laura, Ashley, Logan, Connor, Jenna, Sam, Rachel, Noah, and Asher whose occupations and aspirations range from Recon Marine to landscaper to future law student to National Guard to future professional wrestling diva. Judge Trammell and her husband of 11 years, Bill, are the early 2000s model of the present day celebrity ‘Brangelina,’ before it was it popular. The mother-litigator deems her husband a catch for courting and marrying a woman with seven children.
The determination she has exuded in court as a litigator is the same determination she has exerted as a mother when life found her family at a crossroads. When her Romanian and Russian adoptive kids found the transition into their new life in a different country and culture overwhelming, Judge Trammell was adamant in finding ways to make it better.
“Adjusting to our education system was a struggle for some of them. There were language and learning barriers but the Morgan County school system was wonderful in helping the kids adjust to the transition,” said Judge Trammell. “The school and I help develop an early learning model for children with special needs that is currently be widely used.”
Then there was the time when one of her brood required some acute medical attention that led her to seeking a specialist. Not completely satisfied with the services provided by a then highly regarded metro-Atlanta facility, what does Judge Trammell do? Research, research, and more research until she finds a nationally respected specialist in New York that agrees to treat her child.
Sometime later when that same child needed emergency surgery for a condition related to that pre-diagnosed problem did they go to the metro area hospital she was referred to? Nope, Judge Trammell was back on the phone with the New York specialist and within hours on the road to the Big Apple with child in tow headed in for surgery.
She shared these stories, among many others, and I pass them along because they display the metal of which she has been molded. Her approach to life seems simple— define the problem, research the problem, and rectify the problem. Just listening to her reminisce about her life makes it clear that everything she has encountered as a daughter, attorney, mother, and wife has prepared Judge Trammell precisely for this stage of her professional life.
“Justice is blind. Right is right, doesn’t matter who you are.”
As a judge it is her job to make the best decision possible, she noted.
“No one wants to be wrong. I am open minded and I will do everything in my power to do the right thing,” she said of her new role as judge.
Judge Trammell wants people to understand that her goal in the courtroom is to reaffirm to those coming before her that they have been given a voice and are being listened to no matter what the circumstance.
