Courtroom 7100
Katie Waters, Judicial Administrative Specialist
(770) 528-1822
Cynthia Patton, Staff Attorney
(770) 528-1857
Pamela Lewis, Court Reporter
(770) 528-1856
Tammy Birchell, Judicial Calendar Coordinator - Civil and Domestic Matters ONLY
(770) 528-1887
Court Forms
Boykin Form
Professional Background
Judge Ann Harris was elected to the Superior Court of the Cobb Judicial Circuit in July of 2014 and was re-elected without opposition in 2018 and 2022. In addition to managing a full docket of criminal, domestic and civil matters, Judge Harris presides over Cobb County’s Mental Health Accountability Court, a model court for the treatment and restoration of persons with mental illness who are involved in the criminal justice system. She also presides over Cobb’s Parental Accountability Court, an award-winning alternative to incarceration that transforms chronic non-payers of child support into financially-supportive parents through education, substance abuse treatment, and job assistance and placement. She currently serves as President of Georgia’s Council of Superior Court Judges and is Chair of its Pattern Jury Instructions Committee. She is also a member of the Weltner Family Law Inn of Court.
Over the past seven years, Judge Harris has participated in a cooperative effort with the country of Georgia to promote the independence of the Georgian justice system and strengthen the rule of law in that country by assisting their judiciary in court and jury trial management.
Prior to her election to the bench, Judge Harris served the people of Cobb County as an assistant district attorney for 19 years. Among other notable cases, she tried to a jury the first case of felony elder abuse in the state of Georgia. She helped draft the first human trafficking laws in Georgia in 2006 and was a member of the regional Human Trafficking task force. She traveled to the Baltic region in 2003 to introduce their prosecutors to the adversarial system of justice and effective criminal investigations and prosecutions. Judge Harris earned her law degree from Vanderbilt University and her undergraduate degree from Auburn University.
Business Experience
Prior to her legal career, Judge Harris worked for several years as a senior consultant with Andersen Consulting (now Accenture), an international management consulting and technology services company, where she managed the functional review and analysis of business information needs for clients in a variety of industries, and directed the development and implementation of integrated software solutions. She then joined Equifax, where she managed the Information Systems Audit Department in reviewing the security and effectiveness of software systems supporting the company’s operations.
Civic Involvement
Judge Harris is a recent past Chair of the Board of Directors of MUST Ministries, a non-profit organization dedicated to assisting homeless and struggling families and individuals with housing, food, clothing, employment, and other needs. Judge Harris is also a longtime member and past president of the Smyrna Optimist Club. She is a 2004 graduate of Leadership Cobb and has been an active member of Cobb’s Honorary Commanders Association since 2012. She is a member of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce as well as several business associations in the county.
She and her husband Jim have been married for 39 years and live in Smyrna with their two rescue dogs Bert & Willie.