By Michael Motes

Changing from her long, black "work clothes," the Honorable Judge Dorothy Robinson of the State Court of Cobb County dons jogging attire to relax after a day on the bench.

A relatively newcomer to the popular form of exercise, Judge Robinson is quickly mastering the technique and has become so proficient since beginning last February that she was the proud recipient of the coveted T-shirt awarded to those who completed the July 4^th Peachtree Road Race.

"You don't get much exercise on the bench," Judge Robinson says. "Since I began jogging I have never felt better but have gained eight pounds! I feel that the more I run the more I have to eat."

But additional weight is no problem for the svelte judge, who is the first woman in the state to hold the position of judge of a court of record. She was appointed to her position by then Governor Jimmy Carter in 1972. Two years later, she was elected to a full four-year term by receiving over 70 percent of the votes in a county-wide election. She is unopposed for reelection in this year's race.

A native of New York, Judge Robinson attended Catholic schools there and first became interested in a career as an attorney while in high school.

"I had a wonderful Dominican nun who taught a law course that I really enjoyed," she recalls. "Sister suggested that I might enjoy following law as a profession and I've been studying it ever since, although my first college training was in accounting."

Judge Robinson received her Juris Doctor Degree from St. Louis University School of Law in Missouri and also holds a B. B. A. degree from St. John's University in New York. As a member of the State Trial Judges and Solicitors Association, she regularly attends seminars at the University of Georgia.

It's certainly a privilege to have a judge in the family, but the Robinson household boasts two. Judge Dorothy is the wife of Judge Hugh Robinson, Jr., a US Bankruptcy Judge for the Northern District of Georgia.

Illustrating her quick sense of humor, Judge Dorothy points out, "Hugh is the junior judge in the family, having been appointed in January, 1976."

Her husband was a former partner in the law firm of Green, Buckley, DeRieux and Jones, and for several years both of the Robinsons were practicing attorneys.

Hugh, a former FBI Agent, was sent to Georgia by the Bureau and both Robinsons fell in love with the state. They passed the bar exam together in 1967 and Dorothy began a private practice. Two years later, the FBI wanted to send Hugh back to a northern assignment. With Dorothy in practice in Marietta, they decided to remain there and Hugh resigned from the Bureau to become an attorney.

Again, Judge Dorothy's wit is illustrated: "I told him that Cobb County wasn't big enough for the two of us to practice law in, and that he would have to find work in Atlanta!'

Away from the courtrooms, both Judge Robinsons enjoy leisurely activities of tennis and sailing. But their favorite pastime is taking their two dogs for long walks around Kennesaw Mountain.

"We're surrounded by animals," Dorothy says. They have two Collies, the younger of which is a "dropout from obedience school," the judge says, but who is a past prizewinner at shows hosted by the Collie Club of Georgia.

In addition to the dogs, three cats are also a part of the Robinson menagerie. One cat, "Mrs. Palsgraf," received her name from the central figure in a landmark court decision.

The case involved a woman who was standing in a railroad station when weighing scales fell and hit her. The woman, Mrs. Palsgraf, sued the Long Island Railroad for damages, but lost the case.

"I named our cat Mrs. Palsgraf because she is so strange. She walks around as if she expects something to fall on her at any moment," Dorothy explains.

Concerning her work, Judge Robinson has definite and outspoken ideas on the judicial system. She also admits that she is constantly learning more about the laws of the country.

"The law is so vast and the issues that come up in cases are so numerous that I am constantly learning. It's amazing the number of cases that arise in where no decision has been made on the incident in the past. This is called a case of first impression. The Court has no guidance other than its own interpretation of the laws in that area."

Judge Robinson has handled numerous such cases, and her initial decisions have been upheld in higher courts.

She hears all types of misdemeanor cases in Cobb County, such as battery cases among the saddest of those coming before her.

"More often than not, the wife decides to drop the charges and not prosecute," she says. "This is done primarily for the sake of reconciliation. Sometimes it works and sometimes it does not. In this area, spite type warrants are often issued in which a divorce is already pending and the wife might think she has a better chance if her mate has been charged with a criminal offense. We handle a lot of cases which I call the 'aftermath' or 'forerunner' of divorce cases."

She says that it is the children who suffer in such matters, explaining that "children are quick to learn to play their parents one against the other and it tears everyone apart."

She is in favor of the death penalty "in certain prescribed cases" and says, "I do believe it is a deterrent, regardless of what statistics show. In reality, you can get statistics pro and con on any issue."

Likewise, she is a firm supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment and for very personal reasons.

"My feelings about the ERA come from my own experience fresh out of college with an accounting degree. I tried to get a job in New York as an accountant. I was told that my qualifications were super but that the firms to which I applied simply did not hire women," she says.

"Today, fair hiring is the direct result of the passage of the ERA by Congress. Only after that were the laws passed guaranteeing equal employment. But regardless of the ERA, we still have a free society in which you can choose to compete or not compete."

On Sundays, Judge Robinson can be found in another type of robe -- the choir robe of Holy Family Church in East Marietta, where she is also a Lay Minister of the Eucharist. Her devoted Church involvement was recognized by Archbishop Donnellan in May of last year when she was honored as one of the outstanding Catholic women of the archdiocese.

This Catholic judge prides herself on fair and impartial decisions and maintains a "completely open" policy in the courtroom, to which all are invited to visit and watch Her Honor in action.