Who: Fulton County Superior Court Judge

Degree: A.B. ’80

House: Quincy

Current Residence: Atlanta

Spotlight: Conservatives grumble as supporters of marriage equality breathe a (perhaps short-lived) sigh of relief in the unlikeliest of states. On May 16, Judge Constance Russell revoked Georgia’s gay marriage ban, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Critics attack her for ignoring the 76% of voters who supported the amendment in 2004. They neglect to mention, however, that Russell had been responsible for permitting the same vote, arguing in her decision that judges have no right to intervene before the people have their say. But after a year of hearings, Russell ruled that the ban violated the state constitution’s “single subject rule,” which prohibits referendums from hitching two issues together (in this case, marriage and civil unions).

Friends: Former Fulton Superior Court Judge Gino Brogdon calls her a “powerful package” who “rules with courage and, in fact, with a bit of an iron fist”; Lambda Legal, a national gay rights group, as well as other civil liberties organizations like the ACLU; Karla Drenner, the only openly gay member of Georgia’s General Assembly.

Enemies: Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue accused her of judicial activism and wants to call a special session of the General Assembly; Michael Crotts, a former state senator running for his old seat and co-sponsor of the original same-sex marriage ban (he’s a Republican); right-wing Christians, like the Christian Coalition and the Georgia Baptist Convention's Ray Newman. Last but not least, State Attorney General Thurbert Baker, who's spearheading an appeal of Russell’s ruling, scheduled for June 27.

Frenemies: Democratic gubernatorial candidates Cathy Cox and Daniel Taylor, who find themselves scrambling to define their positions. The prickly issue is sure to be key in the upcoming primary and general elections.

In her words: "People who believe marriages between men and women should have a unique and privileged place in our society may also believe that same-sex relationships should have some place—although not marriage," she wrote in her ruling against the Georgia gay marriage ban.

Why people love her: She stands just over five feet tall but looms large in the national discussion of this contentious issue. People applaud her for her keen rulings that support liberal causes without bias or deviation from the letter of the law. Paul Kurtz, associate dean of the University of Georgia Law School, notes that she made “a decision about procedure, not about substance. It is a very carefully drawn opinion, and it's certainly credible.”

Why people hate her: She’s helping to launch an “attack” on marriage and endangering “the fate of the family.”