Meet Judge Adams

Judge Adams is an experienced trial court judge, handling felony criminal trials, divorce and custody matters, civil lawsuits, and our Mental Health Court (HOPE Court).

She is experienced, respected, and fair.

Judge Cynthia C. Adams has served as a Douglas County Superior Court judge since her appointment in February 2017. The citizens of Douglas County re-elected her during the May, 2018 elections.

Judge Adams got her start in the legal field through the Atlanta Bar Association’s Summer Law Internship Program (“SLIP”). Though still a teenager, the Program convinced her that she wanted to become a practicing attorney, and eventually a judge. Thirty years later her dreams are realized, and Judge Adams continues to serve as a SLIP mentor and an intern host.

Judge Adams graduated with honors from Oakwood College (now Oakwood University), an HBCU in Huntsville, Alabama. There she earned her degree in English and Communications in 1999; later attending the University of Georgia School of Law, where she obtained her Juris Doctor in 2002.

Experience Matters

Judge Adams was nominated to the bench after a rigorous vetting process conducted by Georgia’s Judicial Nominating Committee. The Committee recommended several candidates who then interviewed with then-Governor Deal. The Governor selected Cynthia as the most qualified candidate for the job of Superior Court Judge.

On June 19, 2017, just a few months after her appointment to the Superior Court, Judge Adams was invited to sit by designation on the Georgia Supreme Court Bench-the highest judicial authority in the state of Georgia.

Judge Adams has spent the last five years on the bench, doing the work of a Superior Court Judge. She has presided over countless serious-felony trials, including trials for murder, rape, vehicular homicide, arson, child molestation, and more. She has heard divorce cases, property disputes, and civil injury cases. She has attended Continuing Judicial Education conferences around the country, served on legislative committees, access to justice committees, accountability court committee… just to name a few.

Judge Adams has treated her position not just as a job – let alone a 9-5 job – but as a calling. Upon taking the bench, she successfully reduced the court’s backlog of both civil and criminal cases. She started the first Parental Accountability Court in Douglas County, to meet the public’s need for an alternative to incarceration for parents who could not keep up with child support payments. The Parental Accountability Court is a joint effort of the Georgia Department of Human Services Division of Child Support Services and Superior Court Judges to offer an alternative to incarceration and to help chronic non-payers of child support make regular payments.

She brought to the bench over 14 years of experience, and over the past five years on the bench, Judge Adams continues to serve the Douglas County community and all the litigants who have come before the court with efficient justice, judicial fairness, and unrelenting respect.

Judge Adams also recognized that certain underlying conditions cause people to become entangled in the criminal justice system, to the point where they can never escape. Determined to work to end this cycle, Adams serves as the presiding judge of the Douglas County Mental Health Court (HOPE Court). Mental Health Court is a judicially supervised, treatment-based program for those with a documented mental health diagnosis. The goal is to improve mental health, promote self-sufficiency, reduce recidivism, and offer cost-effective alternatives to incarceration and hospitalization.

During the pandemic, Adams worked with her fellow Judges to keep the courts open, and as a result Douglas County can boast a smaller backlog than many other counties. Throughout the pandemic, Judge Adams has continued to manage her usual docket and court calendars, using virtual hearings, hybrid hearings, and even in-person hearings when it can be done safely- all to ensure timely access to justice for Douglas County residents.

Perspective Matters

But, even before being vetted by the Judicial Nominating Committee and selected by the Governor, Judge Adams had amassed substantial, relevant experience over 15 years of law practice. She served as a prosecutor (misdemeanor and felony) and tried a number of cases ranging from traffic offenses and DUI to child molestation and murder. As a defense attorney, She also tried cases, negotiated cases, and visited clients in jails and prison. As a civil attorney she drafted divorce petitions, attended depositions and mediations. Immediately prior to assuming the superior court bench, she served as a Judge Pro Tem in juvenile court. All these experiences prepared her to fairly and equitably evaluate the wide variety cases that come before the Superior Court.

Community Matters

Judge Adams tirelessly serves her community beyond the bench.

She has a passion for children. Through her previous work in the DeKalb Crimes Against Children (CAC) unit and her work in the juvenile courts, she had the opportunity to help at-risk children. She is particularly proud of creating a reading library for the children involved in the Douglas County Juvenile court. In addition, she spearheaded the Robes Reading Across Georgia initiative which involves judges reading virtually to elementary school children across the state of Georgia.

Growing up, Adams felt that every piece of literature she read changed her in some way and added texture to how she viewed the world. Her hope for the book room and Robes Reading Across Georgia is that they will light a spark of curiosity in the children, creating a love for books and reading, and ultimately changing their trajectory in life.

Judge Adams serves her community as a 2017 graduate of Leadership Douglas, and a member of the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys, the Georgia Association of Women Lawyers, Douglas County Bar Association, Douglas County Chamber of Commerce, Douglas County Rotary, and the Junior League of Douglas County. She currently serves as Chair of the Judicial Section of the Gate City Bar Association. She previously served on the Board of the Douglas County Cultural Arts Council and the Good Samaritan Center in Douglas County.

Judge Adams is a member of the Atlanta Berean Seventh-day Adventist Church. She is married to her college sweetheart and best friend, attorney Dwayne Adams. They live in Douglasville with their two children.