Judge Gayle Williams-Byers serves as Administrative and Presiding Judge of the South Euclid Municipal Court in South Euclid, Ohio.  At the start of her term on January 1, 2012, she became the first African American elected to this seat in the city’s history.  She currently serves in the position of Vice President for the American Judge’s Association (AJA), one of the largest judges’ organization in North America which has a mission of providing quality education programs and high-level publications to its members.  As a member, she has served on the Education, Domestic Violence, Diversity, Membership and Social Media and Technology Committees.  Prior to joining the bench, Judge Byers practiced as an Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor, ending her career as Supervisor of the Cuyahoga County Grand Jury.  Currently, in addition to her judicial duties, Judge Byers has been appointed to serve as the only Judicial Fellow for the National Judicial College (Reno, Nevada) where she has honed expert skills in the area of Commercial Drivers, licensing and federal penalties.  Currently, she primarily teaches under a partnership grant through the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration focused on topics connected to Commercial Drivers in Criminal and Traffic courts.  Beyond this, Judge Byers teaches courses on Access to Justice, Judicial Wellbeing and Procedural Fairness.  She continues to hone and sharpen these skills so as to provide sage advice and guidance to the National Judicial College on these topics. 

Prior to taking the bench, Judge Williams-Byers served as Adjunct Faculty at the Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, Ohio, in the Department of Law Enforcement, teaching courses in the areas of Juvenile, Constitutional and Criminal Law.  As Municipal Judge in the City of South Euclid, Judge Byers has spearheaded several innovative advancements, including livestreaming court proceedings, the creation of an IOS App to provide instant docket access, implementing a monthly Night Court, and the creation of the only suburban Specialized Mental Health Docket in Cuyahoga County.  Further, Judge Byers’ experience as a Drug Court prosecutor led her to spearhead the initiative which resulted in the formation of first suburban Drug Court partnership with Cleveland Municipal Court.  This forward-thinking project received inaugural funding of nearly $2 million in 2012, has helped to serve suburban communities all across northeast Ohio and remains a model of successful collaboration to date. 

Judge Williams-Byers received her B.A., M.N.O., and J.D. degrees from Case Western Reserve University.  She is also a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., Alpha Lambda Sigma Chapter and is married with one child, one grandchild and a rescue dog.