Colleagues remember Georgia’s first female Superior Court judge

STATESBORO, Ga. (WTOC) - Many in Southeast Georgia are remembering Judge Faye Sanders Martin as a pioneer and trailblazer in Georgia’s legal community.

She was admitted to the Georgia Bar in 1956 and was Bulloch County’s first female attorney.

In 1978, she made state history when Governor George Busbee appointed her as Georgia’s first female Superior Court judge.

She served five elected terms and was named chief judge for the Ogeechee Circuit. Judge Lovett Bennett tried cases in front of her as a rookie lawyer.

“She was the daughter of a Primitive Baptist preacher. She was very practical, very down to Earth, made a lot of sense in the courtroom,” said Judge Bennett.

She’d eventually swear in her own daughter as an attorney before retiring in 2000.

Colleagues remember her as a fair judge who tried to help people whenever she could.

Copyright 2023 WTOC. All rights reserved.