IN THE PROFESSION
DeKalb County
Hon. Mercedes G. Ball
A Sustainer member of the Junior League of DeKalb County, Judge Ball served as its President and Chief Executive Officer from 2021 to 2022. In 2018, she founded the DeKalb Saturday Scholars Initiative( DSSI), a literacy-focused Saturday program developed in partnership with the Junior League of DeKalb County and Oak View Elementary School.
Judge Ball has also served as Vice Chair of the DeKalb County Department of Family and Children Services Advisory Board and is a former member of the DeKalb Pro Bono Board of Directors, where she was recognized as a Legacy Circle Leader. She is a member of the Decatur Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, where she was recognized with an Impact in Action Spotlight. Judge Ball is also a 2017 graduate of Emerging Leaders of DeKalb.
Judge Mercedes G. Ball presides over Courtroom B-11 of the DeKalb County State Court. Prior to taking the bench, she served as an Assistant General Counsel and Director of the Client Assistance Program at the State Bar of Georgia, where she oversaw the resolution of informal complaints and certain formal grievances involving Georgia attorneys.
Earlier in her career, Judge Ball was a Child Advocate Attorney at the DeKalb County Child Advocacy Center, where she represented dependent children in civil proceedings, mediations, and panels. She began her legal career as a criminal defense trial attorney at a metro-Atlanta law firm.
Throughout her career, Judge Ball has demonstrated a consistent commitment to professional service and community engagement. From 2013 to 2020, she volunteered as the Executive Director of the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys( GABWA) Foundation’ s Sister2Sister Mentoring Program ®, a juvenile court diversion initiative for court-involved teen girls.
Judge Ball is a member of the DeKalb Bar Association, DeKalb Lawyers Association, Gate City Bar Association, Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys, and the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers.
. Judge Ball earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, cum laude, from Spelman College and a Juris Doctor from the University of Georgia School of Law. While in law school, she served as Executive Conference Editor of the Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law and received the Larry E. Blount Award for scholarship and service.
Judge Ball resides in Decatur and, in her spare time, enjoys baking, reading, and spending time with loved ones.
In this role, she expanded the program’ s reach by establishing a DeKalb County chapter and increasing its volunteer participation. She also served as the inaugural Director of the GABWA Foundation’ s Women’ s Health Initiative, which provides community-based health education and access to services.
10 JULY / AUGUST 2026