Judges and Staff

About Judge Melanie M. Bell

Melanie M. Bell is the Probate Judge of Newton County.  She was elected to office in 2017, and also serves as the Chief Magistrate of Newton County.  Melanie began her legal career as a law clerk to Chief Judge John M. Ott in 2000.  She became an assistant district attorney in the Alcovy Judicial Circuit in 2003, and was promoted to Chief Assistant District Attorney in 2013.  As a prosecutor she specialized in the prosecution of crimes against women and children and major felony cases.  Melanie received her B.A. in History and Sociology from Duke University in 1997, and received her law degree from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University in 2000.