Hon. Kelly Lee Ellerbe

Fulton County Superior Court

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Judge Ellerbe was born and raised in Hinesville, Liberty County, Georgia.  She began service as a Fulton County Superior Court Judge, Atlanta Judicial Circuit, January 1, 2011, after winning an election for an open seat in 2010.  Since then, she has won re-election three times.  The two most recent elections were in 2018 and 2022, and she was unopposed. 

The Fulton County Superior Court is a general jurisdiction trial court which handles felony criminal cases (e.g. murder, gang, aggravated child molestation, armed robbery, drug possession), complex civil cases (e.g. medical malpractice, business disputes, breach of contract, personal injury, tax appeals, administrative agency appeals), and family disputes (e.g. child custody, child support, divorce, legitimation, adoption).  

This Court is divided into two main divisions: (1) the family division (divorce, child custody, child support cases) and (2) the complex criminal/civil division (all other non-family cases).  Judge Ellerbe served 11 ½ years on the complex criminal/civil division before rotating onto the family division July 1, 2022.  She is currently the Chief Judge of the Family Division.

The Fulton Superior Court includes the Metro Atlanta Business Case Division (MABCD), which handles complex commercial litigation cases.  Judge Ellerbe is the Presiding (or Chief) Judge of the MABCD and carries a docket of complex business litigation cases for this division of Court.   Her MABCD docket is in addition to her regular Superior Court docket.

For five years she also served as a Presiding Judge for the Fulton County Adult Felony Drug Court Program (Drug Court), which is the largest of three Accountability Court Programs in the Fulton County Superior Court.  Her Drug Court docket was in addition to her regular Superior Court docket.

Judge Ellerbe’s work on the Superior Court has included service on or leading various Court committees, such as the Executive Committee, Workload Assessment Committee, Juvenile Court Committee, Accountability Court Committee, and Business Court Committee.

She regularly presents to other judges and lawyers on legal issues most recently concerning presiding over complex business litigation and family law cases.

Prior to winning her 2010 judicial election, Judge Ellerbe practiced civil litigation, including complex business litigation, in Atlanta for over 17 years.  Judge Ellerbe received her BBA in MIS from the University of Georgia (UGA) Terry College of Business (1990) and her Juris Doctorate degree from the UGA School of Law (1993).