Judges named for local Juvenile Court

Amanda Trimble and Kamau Hull have been named as judges for the Juvenile Court that handles cases in Clarke and Oconee counties. Trimble has worked as a public defender, while Hull is an attorney in Athens.

From the Athens-Clarke County Government website…

Chief Judge of the Western Judicial Circuit Eric Norris, Judge Lawton Stephens, Judge Patrick Haggard, and Judge Lisa Lott announce that part-time Judge Amanda Trimble will be appointed as the full-time Presiding Juvenile Court Judge for the Western Judicial Circuit effective October 1, 2020. Mr. Kamau Hull will be appointed as part-time Juvenile Court Judge of the Western Judicial Circuit. Both appointments will be for a four-year period expiring in September 2024 and will serve in Clarke and Oconee counties.

“We are excited to welcome Mr. Hull to the Juvenile Court bench and for the reappointment of Judge Trimble to the Juvenile Court,” said Chief Judge Norris. “We look forward to the continued collaboration and innovative ideas and solutions that these individuals bring to the children and families of Clarke and Oconee Counties. We are blessed to have such dedicated and compassionate people serving our community.”

Judge Amanda Trimble has served as the part-time judge for Georgia’s Western Judicial Circuit Juvenile Court since her appointment in 2016. Prior to her appointment, she was an Assistant Public Defender in the nearby Piedmont Judicial Circuit for 11 years representing indigent defendants in felony and misdemeanor prosecutions and appeals and representing parents and children before the Juvenile Court.

Prior to her public defender service, Trimble served as a law clerk in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. She received her J.D. from Mercer University’s Walter F. George School of Law. While at Mercer, she served as senior managing editor of the Mercer Law Review, served as a student editor for the Journal of Southern Legal History, and received various awards and honors. Judge Trimble has also served as an adjunct instructor at the University of Georgia’s School of Law, as well as an instructor at continuing legal education seminars where she has focused on educating criminal defense attorneys and attorneys representing parties in Juvenile Court proceedings.

Having received her appointment, Trimble expressed her gratefulness to continue working with the court system and serving the families and children of the Western Circuit. “Serving the families of Athens-Clarke and Oconee Counties for the last four years has been an honor,” she said. “I am routinely awed by the successes of our families and youth, and I look forward to working with Judge Hull and our community partners.”

Judge Trimble will replace Judge Robin Shearer, who will retire as judge on September 30, 2020.

A. Kamau Hull, a native Athenian, is strongly connected to his Athens community. He has served as a member of the Whit Davis School Council, Whit Davis PTO, secretary of the Parent Attorney Advocacy Committee, and as a trainer for the Clarke Central High School Peer Mediation Program. He also serves on the boards of Chess & Community, the Western Judicial Circuit Bar Association, and as secretary of the Cedar Creek Civic Association.

Hull earned his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Virginia Military Institute before pursuing a legal career at the University of Georgia’s School of Law. He completed his law degree at Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School, where he was a published member of the Law Journal, served as a student ambassador, peer mentor and vice president of the Sports & Entertainment Law Society.

Following law school and with a desire to serve the city of his birth and his heart, Kamau Hull and his wife, Nicole, founded The Hull Firm, LLC, in Athens. The firm specializes in family law, estate planning and probate, business law and mediation services. The Hulls also specialize in child welfare law, having been appointed many times as parent attorneys and guardian ad litems – determining what is in a child’s best interest.

“I’m extremely honored to not only become a part of the local judiciary, but also to engage in an area as critically important to our community as our youth and their families,” said Hull. “I can think of no better way to continue a long family legacy of service to our community.”

Judge Trimble and Mr. Hull will focus on helping families and the community function in the best interest of the children under the court’s jurisdiction. They will both be sworn in on Monday, September 28, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. on the front steps of the Athens-Clarke County Courthouse at 325 East Washington Street.

Cox Media Group