Black History Month – Celebrating Judge Michael E. Hancock
Georgia native Michael E. Hancock grew up in rural Georgia during the civil rights movement. He was a changemaker from an early age, he was the first Black student to graduate from Gainesville (GA) High School. After high school he moved to Atlanta to pursue a communications degree from Georgia State University.
His career began as an investigator for DeKalb Juvenile Court, during this time his courthouse colleagues encouraged him to pursue law school. He was accepted to and graduated from Emory School of Law in 1978. This was only 11 years after the first African-American student obtained a juris doctor from Emory School of Law in 1967. While studying at Emory University he was the president of the Law Students Civil Rights Research Counsel and organized Emory Law’s first minority student recruitment conference.
After law school, he decided to give back and served for a year with VISTA (Volunteer in Service to America) assigned to the Atlanta Legal Aid Society's Senior Citizens Law Project. He also worked for a short time at the Georgia Legal Services in his hometown but soon returned to Atlanta to join the Fulton County Public Defender’s office.
However, it was in Dekalb County, GA where Judge Hancock would make historic contributions to Georgia’s legal system. In 1979, he became DeKalb County's first African-American Public Defender and assistant solicitor general. A natural leader, he was nicknamed “the Dean” and was one of the founders of the DeKalb Lawyers Association.
He became DeKalb County's first full-time Black judge and served as chief judge of the DeKalb Recorders Court from 1983 to 1991. Governor Zell Miller appointed him to the DeKalb Superior Court bench in 1991- he became the first African-American judge to hold a seat in the Stone Mountain Circuit of Georgia. He held that position until he retired in January 2012.
DeKalb County’s courthouse and Judge Hancock’s old courtroom are on N McDonough Street, just up the street from our law firm at the Marble House. On this same street, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was sentenced in 1960 at the former DeKalb Building for protesting segregation with the Atlanta Student Movement. On this same street, hundreds of neighbors and community volunteers painted “Black Lives Matter” in large bold letters in August 2020.
Honorable Michael E. Hancock served Dekalb County for over 30 years and many years ago we had the opportunity to bring cases before his court. We are inspired by his trailblazing career, his historic legacy and his commitment to serve the people of Decatur and DeKalb County.