Dunwoody Keeps Up Judicial Tradition

Monday, Dunwoody’s Stacey Hydrick started a new job.

Hydrick took on her first criminal cases Monday as the newest judge in DeKalb County State Court. She was sworn in on Friday.

“I’m thrilled, I’m excited,” said Hydrick, earlier last week. “I really feel like this is the perfect job for me. I cannot wait to get started.”

Hydrick, 43, of Dunwoody Village, took the seat of Tony DelCampo, also of Dunwoody, who announced his resignation from the position earlier this year.

DelCampo left his seat to pursue work in private practice at Harris Penn Lowery and DelCampo.

His reason for stepping down is two-fold. One, he had been considered for a Federal District Court judgeship in Atlanta, but after two years of waiting, it didn’t pan out. Second, he has two children who will soon be in college.

“The financial realities of that prospect helped me to make a decision to go into private practice,” he said. 

DelCampo held the position for nearly a decade.

Hydrick, a graduate of Dunwoody High School, lives in Dunwoody Village with her husband, a sergeant with the Lawrenceville Police Department, and two sons, Danny, 14 and Adam, 11.

Hydrick received her bachelor’s degree at Emory and law degree at Georgia State. She worked as a prosecutor for ten years, including five and a half years Georgia Attorney General’s office, where she worked in the Special Prosecution Division, taking on cases of public corruption, including cases in which politicians were misusing funds, funneling tax money into their own accounts and taking bribes.

Nine years ago, she began practicing with Hedrick Law, a local firm specializing in civil insurance law.

After almost 19 as an attorney, she was moving on to something new.

“I’m ready for a change,” she said, saying that much of her civil work had been outside of the courts. “I missed the legal analysis. I missed being in the court room and the interaction with the other attorneys in the community.”

Last summer, Hydrick applied for and was a finalist for a judge’s seat in DeKalb County Court, but didn’t get the position. So when DelCampo announced he was stepping down, she applied again.

She was among eight finalists for two open spots, and was interviewed by Gov. Nathan Deal.

Two days later, she got a call.

“He called me Thursday afternoon a little after2. I didn’t recognize the number, so I answered ‘Hello?’” she said. “’Stacey, is this Stacey?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘Stacey, this is Gov. Nathan Deal, how are you?’”

“I knew it was good news,” she said.

To get ready for her new job, she’s been speaking with other judges, including DelCampo, and observing some courtrooms. Other than that, there isn’t too much formal training. She’ll start right in.

“I’ve done criminal and civil cases, so I have a general idea of what goes on in these things,” she said. “The little details I may not, but I have a law clerk, legal assistant and calendar clerks.”

She’s kept on DelCampo’s people in those positions.

“He had an excellent staff. I didn’t change a thing,” she said.

DelCampo said it was a wonderful job.

“It will probably be the best job she’s ever had,” he said.

While he’ll miss the courtroom, DelCampo said he’s excited for the challenge of being an attorney again.

“It’s a very different skill set you have to use,” he said. “You take off your referee hate and get in the game. You advocate for your client.”

But he’ll still be a judge in Dunwoody, where he serves a judge in the municipal court.

“I enjoy it,” he said. “It gives me a chance to get before the community and try to do some good things in the city of Dunwoody.”

DelCampo said his advice to Hydrick, as she takes his old position, was to keep the staff, which she did, and to “treat people with respect, work hard and go in everyday seeking to do the right thing.”

Hydrick is looking forward to filling his shoes.

“I definitely see this as the last move in my career,” she said. “I would love to retire as a judge.”