Judge Winston Bethel: Biography & Judicial Service | KnowJudges

# Winston Bethel
Senior Judge · [DeKalb County Magistrate Court](/kyj/court/ga/dekalb-county-magistrate-court)

## Winston Bethel at a glance
Current roleSenior Judge
Court[DeKalb County Magistrate Court](/kyj/court/ga/dekalb-county-magistrate-court)
Current assignment[DeKalb County Magistrate Court](/kyj/court/ga/dekalb-county-magistrate-court)
JurisdictionGeorgia · State
Judicial serviceActive

## Biography

### Professional career

- Listed as a Senior Judge at the DeKalb County Magistrate Court, a position he has held since May 2010
- Chief Magistrate Judge (1999–2010): Led the DeKalb County Magistrate Court for 11 years
- Winston P. Bethel is a Senior Judge at the DeKalb County Magistrate Court in Georgia, with a 25‐year career in the judiciary, including serving as Chief Magistrate Judge from 1999 to 2010
- Advisory Role: held the role of an advisor on the Misdemeanor Mental Health Court’s Interdisciplinary Team, which works with criminal justice and mental health service providers
- Education & Teaching: previously an adjunct instructor at Georgia Piedmont Technical College, teaching dual‐enrollment criminal justice programs

### Education



### Additional information

- Early Retirement: In 2010, Bethel accepted an early retirement package to help reduce the county’s 2010 budget, though he continued in a senior judicial role
- Bethel’s long tenure and leadership role in DeKalb County’s judicial system have been recognized in local and national court directories.

## Sources

Identity source checked August 25, 2026.
01
### Georgia Courts Directory
Identity source · HTML · Source checked August 25, 2026
[View Georgia Courts Directory ↗](https://georgiacourts.knack.com/gcd2/#directory-entries/entry-details/58af021fce9168f520c4d901/)

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## 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.