Mrs. Holmes started her career as a Public Defender in Baltimore County, Maryland, before returning to Georgia and serving as an Assistant Solicitor General. She later opened her own firm, The Law Office of Joyette M. Holmes, until being asked to serve as an Assistant District Attorney in the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office. Her work led to her selection as the Chief Magistrate Judge for the Cobb Judicial Circuit in 2015. During this time, Mrs. Holmes also served the State of Georgia as the Vice President of the Council of Magistrate Court Judges and served on the Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice’s Commission on Sexual Harassment in the Judiciary.

In 2019, Governor Kemp appointed Mrs. Holmes to serve as the District Attorney for Cobb County. She would be the first African American and woman to serve as both Chief Magistrate Judge and District Attorney in Cobb County. As a respected member of the legal community, and due to her reputation to reach just outcomes, Georgia’s Attorney General selected Holmes to serve as the special prosecutor for the Ahmaud Arbery case. Since leaving the DA’s Office, Mrs. Holmes has served as a partner in the Marietta law firm of Gregory Doyle Calhoun and Rogers (GDCR).

Mrs. Holmes has received the Len Gilbert Award by the Cobb Chamber of Commerce for her leadership and service as the 2022 Strategic Planning Co-chair. She was named the 2021 Woman of the Year by LiveSafe Resources, received the 2020 Crystal Gavel award from SafePath Children’s Advocacy Center, and the 2019 Cobb County Citizen of the Year by the Marietta Daily Journal. The Cobb NAACP and the Cobb Ministerial Alliance have both honored her with awards named for United States Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. She has received a Community Service Award named for one of her mentors, retired Georgia Supreme Court Justice Robert Benham and was honored with the Living Legacy Award by the Kennesaw Teen Center.  

Mrs. Holmes is a Silver Star member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and serves in Rho Zeta Omega, the Cobb County Graduate Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She currently serves on the boards of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce, Must Ministries, Kennestone Regional Hospital Board, and the Capital City Bank Board. She is a member of the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys, and a Life Member of the Cobb County NAACP Chapter.

Joyette Holmes was born and raised in Valdosta, Georgia. She earned her undergraduate degrees in Psychology and Criminal Justice from the University of Georgia. Holmes earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of Baltimore School of Law.

Joyette and her husband have been married for more than twenty years. The Holmes are committed lifelong participants in their community. They have two daughters.