Cowan Elected VP Of State Judges' Council
Friday, June 30th, 2023
Municipal Court Judge Rob Cowan is being recognized for his work to improve the way courts across Georgia serve residents. Cowan was elected vice president of the Georgia Council of Municipal Court Judges and also received a special recognition from the organization for his work as the northwest Georgia district representative to the council.
"The Council of Municipal Court Judges provides a resource that all judges rely on," Judge Cowan said. "It allows the judges to protect due process for the people that come before us, and I think when you realize that municipal courts see more people than any other level of court in our state, probably by two-fold, you realize the importance of making sure that the due process that we see here in Dalton is the same that someone will get in Chatsworth, or Morrow, or John’s Creek, or wherever it is."
Cowan was honored at the council's annual meeting with a special award of recognition in honor of his outstanding work as the northwest Georgia district representative to the council, along with Judge Luke Mayes of the Municipal Court of Kennesaw. In the past year, Cowan and Mayes have spearheaded an effort to bring the district's judges together with regular meetings and training sessions.
"We decided this past year that we were going to take a much more active role in making sure that the judges in this district had more resources, knew what those resources were, and have regular monthly meetings which included continuing education on changes in the law, because we know that the law is always changing," Cowan said. "We took that extra step, made that extra effort to make sure the municipal court judges in northwest Georgia had and knew what those resources were so they could be the best judges they could be."
Cowan says that he's honored by the recognition because he believes in the work that the council does both in Atlanta to ensure that municipal courts across the state get the resources that they need and also the council's efforts to protect due process for the residents.
"I think it’s so important, because we do have cities that don’t focus on that," Cowan said. "I'm ridiculously blessed here in Dalton - I say this every time that I get together with other judge - I’ve never had any pressure from our Mayor and Council to raise funds, they don’t look at it as that. They just want to make sure that we’re treating people properly and that we’re providing that due process and that’s what I strive to do. That’s the goal, and I’m really happy to say that we’re really up there as the gold standard in Dalton not just because I have a great court staff, but I also have a supportive Mayor and Council."
Cowan is also honored by his election to the vice presidency of the council and looks forward to working with state leaders to further the mission of the courts.
"It means that Dalton will be put on the map even more so under the gold dome in Atlanta, and with the judicial council I’ll have a lot more interactions and I’ll be spending a lot more time in Atlanta to make sure that municipal courts are taken care of and that we’re recognized as we should be," he said.
