---
title: "Phinia Aten | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/phinia-aten-ga-magistrate-58af01f5ce9168f520c4d339"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-08-25"
---

# Phinia Aten

Rockdale County Magistrate Court · Judge

## Profile

- Court: Rockdale County Magistrate Court
- State: Georgia
- Role: Judge
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-08-25

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Before you appear

- Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.
- Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.
- Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

## Courtroom Rules

### electronic devices and recording

Scope: statewide

Georgia's class-specific Uniform Court Rules govern electronic devices and recording in state trial courts. Before using recording, photography, livestreaming, or similar courtroom technology, confirm the governing rule and the assigned court's procedure.

Evidence excerpt: Uniform Superior, Juvenile, Magistrate, Municipal and Probate Court Rules

[Supreme Court of Georgia, court orders amending Uniform Trial Court Rules](https://www.gasupreme.us/rules/amendments-to-rules)
Source checked: 2026-07-26


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://georgiacourts.knack.com/gcd2/#directory-entries/entry-details/58af01f5ce9168f520c4d339/)
- [Official roster](https://georgiacourts.knack.com/gcd2/#directory-entries/entry-details/58af01f5ce9168f520c4d339/)
- [Supreme Court of Georgia, court orders amending Uniform Trial Court Rules](https://www.gasupreme.us/rules/amendments-to-rules)
- [Judicial Council of Georgia Administrative Office of the Courts official judicial roster](https://georgiacourts.knack.com/gcd2/#directory-entries/entry-details/58af01f5ce9168f520c4d339/)

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## Biography

### Professional career

- Judge Phinia Aten is the Chief Magistrate Judge of the Magistrate Court of Rockdale County, Georgia, first elected in 2012 and re‐elected in 2016 and 2020, making her the first African American woman judge in the Rockdale Judicial Circuit’s history
- Smart Justice Series — televised and online legal education for the public

### Education

- J.D. and a Sports Law Certificate from Tulane University and a B.A. in Public Relations from Wayne State University.

### Additional information

- She was admitted to the Georgia Bar in 1998
- Before becoming a judge, Aten was a private trial attorney for 14 years
- handling criminal and civil litigation.
- Judge Aten oversees the court’s operations, judicial administration, and community engagement initiatives
- She has also served on multiple county committees, including the Rockdale Jail Diversion Steering Committee and Child Abuse Protocol Committee
- Judge Aten has received recognition such as Outstanding Citizen from the Georgia Secretary of State, Top Lawyer from On Common Ground newspaper, and Outstanding Community Service Award from the Conyers Art Conservatory



## Published courtroom rules

### Shared court rules

- [Georgia Magistrate Court Rule 15 — virtual proceedings](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-92c085addd8bb83007e0ba04) — Georgia Magistrate Courts only. Virtual proceedings; consent, exceptions and judicial orders control. Dated 2023 source, later amendments not exhaustively certified. [Official source](https://www.gasupreme.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Order-approving-Magistrate-videoconferencing-rules_entered.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.