Judge Linda Bratton Haynes

Judge Linda Bratton Haynes was born in Upland, California. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management at the University of North Carolina Charlotte in 1980 and obtained her law degree from Georgia State University School of Law in 1986. During her third year of law school, Judge Haynes wrote a brief on Psychiatric Patient Privilege that was argued before the Georgia Supreme Court and became a landmark decision in the State of Georgia. Immediately after law school, she worked as a law clerk for the Honorable Robert Benham in the Georgia Court of Appeals.

In 1988, Judge Haynes practiced law with Franklin, Moran and Boyle, where she developed the firm’s bankruptcy division. In 1990, she bought out a section of FMB and opened her own successful law practice, Linda Bratton Haynes and Associates, where she practiced bankruptcy, business law, civil and criminal law. In 1998, she was appointed Judge Pro Tem for DeKalb County Juvenile Court. In 2002, she was appointed Associate Judge of the DeKalb County Juvenile Court. Judge Haynes developed the Truancy Awareness Prevention Program (TAPP) that has successfully assisted in reducing truancy in the DeKalb County Schools. Judge Haynes also developed and presides over the first Juvenile Drug Court in DeKalb County. It has been recognized as the most efficiently run juvenile drug court in the State of Georgia.

Judge Haynes is a Member of Georgia Council of Juvenile Court Judges, National Council of family and Juvenile Court Judges, DeKalb Lawyers Association, DeKalb Bar Association and member of the 2008 Leadership DeKalb class, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Additionally, she is Vice President of A Dancer’s Heart Inc. Judge Haynes is also a recipient of the Tupac Shukar Foundation’s Women in Progress Award and the Atlanta Center for Healing Trailblazer Award.

Judge Haynes was sworn in as a full Juvenile Court Judge on December 19, 2013 and as served as Chief Judge of DeKalb County Juvenile Court from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2018.