About Carla Brown

Carla Brown has served as a Gwinnett County State Court Judge since being appointed in 2003 by then-Governor Sonny Perdue.  She has been re-elected to this position five (5) times.  She is running for re-election on the May 21, 2024 Ballot.

Prior to taking the State Court bench, Judge Brown had a wealth of judicial experience, including:

• Associate Judge for the City of Suwanee
• Judge for Gwinnett County State Court (by Designation)
• Associate Judge for the City of Lilburn (continuous service since 1998)

Judge Brown, along with her colleagues, worked to establish Gwinnett County's DUI Court, designed to provide intensive supervision and treatment to DUI offenders with multiple convictions.  DUI courts have been shown to successfully lower the recidivism rate to offenders.  In 2016, she worked with colleagues and established a State Court accountability program for veterans charged with misdemeanors.  This program, called the Veteran's Intervention Program (VIP), was developed in conjunction with the Solicitor General of Gwinnett.  It offers resources and guidance to our veterans who are facing legal issues within the State Court.  VIP became a fully-certified program by the Council of Accountability Court Judges in 2018 and holds bi-monthly court sessions for its participants.

Prior to assuming her judicial duties, Judge Brown was in the private practice of law from 1989 to 2003, where she gained extensive courtroom experience.  Her practice was primarily dedicated to felony criminal defense and representation of fathers seeking custody of their children in domestic cases.  While in private practice, Judge Brown tried many cases in both State and Superior Courts throughout metro-Atlanta.  In 1995, Judge Brown had the honor to travel to Okinawa, Japan, to assist in the pro bono representation of two US Marines.

Judge Brown was proud to receive endorsements in her 2016 campaign for re-election by the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys (GABWA), Georgia Equality, Elliot Brack, deemed Most Qualified in the Atlanta Bar Association poll, and honored to receive the 2016 Women of Distinction Award from the Gwinnett Republican Women.  She was also the Social Action Award Recipient of the RKL Education Foundation and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., RKL Chapter.

Judge Brown is very active in Gwinnett civic affairs.  In 2009, she founded Canine Pet Rescue, a 501(c)3 non-profit dedicated to rescuing, rehabilitating, and rehoming German Shepherd Dogs.  She is active in equestrian and canine competitions.  Judge Brown is a member of the Gwinnett Rotary Club, Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, a 1998 graduate of Leadership Gwinnett, and a prior member of the Gwinnett Animal Adivsory Council.

Judge Brown is a native of Dalton, Georgia and a 1983 graduate of Dalton High School.  She obtained her B.A. from Mercer University, and is a 1989 graduate of the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University.  She is licensed to practice law in Georgia and Tennessee.  Judge Brown has been a resident of Gwinnett County since 1989.  She resides in Dacula on her horse farm with numerous dogs, cats, horses, chickens, and ducks.