Benjamin Makin was appointed as a judge in Magistrate Court in February 2012.  On January 1st, 2022 he was appointed Chief Judge of the Magistrate Court by the Superior Court Judges of the Western Circuit.  He was elected to a full terms as Chief Magistrate Court Judge in 2024.  Prior to his appointment Judge Makin worked as an attorney for the Western Circuit Public Defender’s Office. He graduated from Oklahoma State University with a degree in English Literature and from the University of Georgia School of Law.

Judge Makin serves the DUI Drug Court both as a team member and as assistant judge to State Court Judge Charles Auslander.  Judge Makin has served as president of the Western Circuit Bar Association and as a member of a Clarke County School District Local School Governance Team. In 2018, Judge Makin was named the Oglethorpe Avenue Elementary School Volunteer of the Year.   He has previously served as mentor for the Clarke County Mentor Program. He is a District 10 Representative of the Council of Magistrate Court Judges.  Judge Makin has previously served as the President of the Board of Directors of the Athens Nurses Clinic, a non-profit organization that provides medical care to low income individuals in the Athens area. In 2004 he was the recipient of the University of Georgia School of Law’s Shelley D. Knox Equal Justice Award for Outstanding Public Service.

Judge Makin was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania and  grew up in Stillwater, Oklahoma before moving to Athens in 2001. He and his wife Mandy have two sons. In his free time he enjoys disc golf, movies, music, reading and spending time with his family.