Ryan Slater Hope

Ryan Hope is a State Court Judge in Athens-Clarke County, having been appointed to that position by Governor Brian Kemp in March of 2023. Prior to this appointment, Judge Hope served as the Municipal Court Judge of Athens-Clarke County, a position he'd held since February of 2017. Judge Hope grew up in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania but moved to Athens to attend the University of Georgia in 1993. Judge Hope graduated from the University of Georgia in 1997, majoring in Political Science with a minor in Russian Language. He received his JD in 2000 from the University of Georgia School Of Law.

After law school, Judge Hope worked as an Assistant Public Defender for the University of Georgia Legal Aid Clinic for 6 years. From 2007 to 2017 Judge Hope served as the Chief Assistant Solicitor of Athens-Clarke County. Throughout his legal career Judge Hope has been heavily involved in the local accountability courts. He served as a team member for the Athens-Clarke County DUI/Drug Court as both a public defender and as Chief Assistant Solicitor. As Chief Assistant Solicitor, Judge Hope has been a team member of the Athens-Clarke County Treatment and Accountability Court and the Western Circuit Veteran's Court. In addition to his current duties as State Court Judge, he is a backup Judge for the Western Circuit Treatment and Accountability Court. Judge Hope previously served as a member of the Region 2 Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Addictive Diseases Regional Planning Board.

In his current position, Judge Hope is responsible for court proceedings and operations in the State Court of Athens-Clarke County. State Court has jurisdiction over misdemeanor criminal cases and general civil cases, with certain exceptions such as domestic relations cases. State Court judges preside over criminal arraignments, criminal and civil motion hearings, criminal and civil jury and non-jury trials, and hearings on probation violations. The criminal caseload in State Court includes DUI offenses, family violence offenses, traffic offenses and thefts.