The Magistrate Court is composed of four (4) judges. Two judges are full-time and are elected by the people of Chatham County and serve four (4) year terms. Two judges are appointed as part-time Magistrates and are appointed by the Chief Magistrate to serve at the discretion of the Chief Magistrate and their terms run concurrent with the term of the Chief Magistrate. The Chief Magistrate shall assign cases among the several Magistrates of the county and shall decide any disputes between the Magistrates of the county.



Chief Magistrate Mary Kathryn Moss

Mary Kathryn Moss was sworn in as the Chief Magistrate of Chatham County on January 4, 2005. Prior to that position, Judge Moss was a partner in the law firm of Ranitz, Mahoney, Mahoney & Moss, P.C. specializing in civil litigation, real estate and admiralty law. While practicing law, she also sat as Judge Pro tem for the Recorder's Court of Chatham County and the Municipal Courts of Port Wentworth and Garden City. Judge Moss served as a law clerk to the Honorable William T. Moore, Jr., Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia.

Judge Moss is Past President of the Council of Magistrate Court Judges where she also served as First and Second Vice President, Treasurer as well as First District Representative. She is a member of the Legislative Committee, Rules Committee and Mentor Committee of the Magistrate Court Council. She also served as Chair of Magistrate Court Training Council. She serves as Vice Chair to the Board of Commissioners of the Magistrates Retirement Fund of Georgia. Judge Moss is a member of the Georgia Bar Association, the Georgia Association of Women Lawyers, the Savannah Bar Association, and the American Judges Association.

Judge Moss was named Magistrate of the Year in 2018. In 2011, the Council of Magistrate Court Judges selected Judge Moss as Workhorse of the Year.

Judge Moss received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Georgia and her Juris Doctor cum laude from Tulane University with a Certificate in Admiralty She graduated from St. Vincent's Academy.

Judge Moss serves on the several local boards and is involved in numerous civic organizations.



Magistrate Michael H. Barker

A lifelong resident of Savannah, Judge Barker was educated in the Chatham County public school system, graduating with honors from Jenkins High School in 1980. He graduated from Armstrong State College in 1984 with a Bachelor of Arts in History (cum laude) and earned his Juris Doctor from Georgia State University in 1987.

After practicing with the firm of Jones, Bordeaux & Associates, Judge Barker accepted a position as staff attorney to Superior Court Judge James W. Head. Upon Judge Head's retirement, he continued working in the public sector serving as staff attorney to Judge James F. Bass, Jr. until his appointment to the Magistrate Court bench on December 1, 2003. Judge Barker was elected to a full term of office effective January 1, 2005.

Judge Barker has served and continues to serve in many capacities with the Georgia Council of Magistrate Court Judges, most recently as President in 2019. He has been recognized by the Council as Magistrate of the Year (2012), Workhorse of the Year (2017, 2019), and with the Lifetime Achievement Award (2021). He is an Institute of Continuing Judicial Education Medal recipient for continued excellence in teaching.

Judge Barker is a member of the H. V. Jenkins Alumni Association Hall of Fame, and received the Lane & Livingston Medal as a Notable Alumni from Armstrong State College. He was also honored with the Savannah Bar Association’s Robbie Robinson Award and the State Bar of Georgia’s Younger Lawyer’s Division Award of Achievement for his 30 years with the Georgia High School Mock Trial Program.

He and his wife Christy Sieger Barker have two children: Nicholas and Natalie. They are members of St. Peter the Apostle Church.



Magistrate Bonzo C. Reddick

Judge Reddick was born in Rockingham, North Carolina to the late Bonzo and Josephine Reddick. He was educated in the public school system of Richmond County, North Carolina. After completing high school in 1964, he matriculated at Johnson C. Smith University where he received a B.A. Degree in Psychology in May 1968. Following his graduation, he served as a teacher of Special Education as Michael C. Riley High School for two years. He later served as assistant principal at H.E. McCracken High School in Bluffton, South Carolina.

Judge Reddick pursued a Masters Degree in Secondary School Administration at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte, North Carolina before enrolling at John Marshall Law School of Atlanta at the Savannah, Georgia Branch. He received his LLB Degree in 1975 and was admitted to the Bar during the same year.

Judge Reddick has been practicing law in Savannah since 1975. He specializes in Real Estate Sales and Financing, Probate and Bankruptcies. He has also served as a part-time Judge of the Magistrate Court of Chatham County from July 1987 to the present. He has served as Superior Court representative of the Tripartite Committee overseeing Indigent Defense in Chatham County. He also serves on the Board of Directors of numerous non-profit community organizations.

At present, Judge Reddick is an active member of the St. John Baptist Church where he faithfully serves as a Bible study teacher, a Sunday school teacher and the Assistant Chairman of the Trustee board. Bonzo and his wife Betty Higgins Reddick have three children: Tandi H, Nsilo K. and Bonzo K.




Magistrate Tracie Grove Macke

Tracie Grove Macke was sworn in as pro temp Magistrate Court Judge on October 23, 2020. She also serves as Magistrate Court Court Administrator and Court Clerk.

Judge Macke graduated from Emory & Henry College, cum laude, with B.A. degree in history and business management. She attended Washington & Lee University School of Law, where she was the recipient of the Justice Harmon Scholarship and a member of the Moot Court Board. Judge Macke practiced in the states of Tennessee and Texas before moving to Savannah, Georgia. Before joining the Magistrate Court, she worked as litigator in private practice and as in-house trial attorney for a Fortune 500 company where she was recognized for achieving 100% trial wins and client satisfaction. Over the course of her career, Judge Macke represented individuals and businesses in a wide range of civil matters in both state and federal trial and appellate courts. She is a member of the Georgia State Bar, Georgia Court of Appeals, Georgia Supreme Court, U.S.D.C. Southern District of Georgia, 11th Circuit Court of Appeals and U.S. Supreme Court. During her private practice, she was a member of ABOTA (an invitation-only national organization of attorneys with demonstrated trial experience); Litigation Council of America (a peer-selected honorary society of trial attorneys comprising less than 1/2 of one percent of American trial lawyers) and a Board member of the Georgia Defense Lawyers Association. As a GDLA member, she routinely authored articles on medical malpractice law for the annual GDLA Journal.

Judge Macke has previously served on the board of Marshlands, Inc. (a non-profit serving the needs of juveniles), Mary Telfair Advisory Board and Isle of Hope United Methodist Church Council. She currently enjoys volunteering at Cumberland Island National Seashore. She is married to Joe Macke and has two children, Maggie and Harris Smith.