ATLANTA, May 20, 2024. The judges and staff of the Court of Appeals are deeply saddened by the death of Senior Judge Dorothy Toth Beasley.
Chief Judge Amanda Mercier said, “The Court of Appeals is heartbroken to learn of the passing of our dear friend and colleague, Judge Dorothy Toth Beasley. Judge Beasley was a brilliant jurist whose dedication to public service was renowned not just in Georgia, but across the world. Her love of the law, her integrity, her wisdom and her independence were unmatched. She truly was a trailblazer. Her loss is incredibly difficult for all of us, but her legacy will live on at the Georgia Court of Appeals and in each of us who is so grateful for having called her a mentor and a friend.”
Judge Beasley was a pioneer in many respects. After a stellar and varied legal career, in 1977 she became the first woman appointed and then elected to serve as judge in the State Court of Fulton County. In 1984, she was the first woman appointed and then elected to serve on the Court of Appeals of Georgia. She was also the first woman to serve as Chief Judge in 1995. After she retired in 1999, Judge Beasley served as a mediator and arbitrator and participated in many community and legal programs, both local and international.
Presiding Judge Anne Elizabeth Barnes said, “I was honored to have the opportunity to serve with Dorothy Beasley.” According to Presiding Judge Stephen Louis A. Dillard, “Judge Beasley was an outstanding jurist, a dedicated public servant, and a respected and treasured colleague. She will be dearly missed.”
Presiding Judge Dillard also noted that Judge Beasley had many notable accomplishments during her judicial career, but one of the most talked-about achievements from her tenure as chief judge of the Court of Appeals was amending the Court’s motto, which was carved into marble behind the bench in the former Judicial Building courtroom. The motto said, “Upon the integrity, wisdom, and independence of the judiciary depend the sacred rights of free men.” Judge Beasley had the court add “and women.” Presiding Judge Dillard recalls that when Judge Beasley placed the order to add those two words, she directed that the additional words be carved in a slightly larger font, as “a subtle, but powerful reminder that it took far too long to make this important change.”
Judge Beasley’s legacy lives on in the current Court of Appeals courtroom in the Nathan Deal Judicial Building, where the court’s motto as amended has been replicated in full.