“When you think of debt, sometimes you think about just monetary, but it goes so much deeper than that. Debt seems to be a feeling that you owe something.”
-Honorable Judge Rizza Palmares O’Connor
Honorable Judge Rizza Palmares O’Connor
Biography
The Honorable Rizza O’Connor is the Chief Magistrate Judge of Toombs County and the first Filipino American judge in Georgia. She presides over small claims civil cases, criminal warrant, and bond hearings. Prior to her appointment as magistrate judge in 2013, Judge O’Connor worked as an assistant district attorney in the Southern area of Georgia and recently finished a term as the 72md President of the Young Lawyers Division of Georgia. She is currently a member of the State Bar of Georgia’s Executive Committee, the Executive Committee of the Magistrate Council of Georgia, and the Strategic Planning Committee of the Administrative Office of the Courts.
Rizza also serves her local community as a member of the Board of Directors of the Cornerstone Children’s Center and the Boys and Girls Club of Toombs. County. She received her undergraduate and law degree from Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. In 2018, Rizza was named one of The 25 Most Influential Asian Americans in Georgia by the Georgia Asian Times. In 2019, the Georgia Legal Awards named her to their list on the On the Rise 14 Under 40. This year, she is a part of the 2020 class of Leadership Georgia.