Former TV judge to represent family of slain Minnesota man

(AP) — A former Atlanta judge best known for her syndicated TV show is now "stepping beyond the bench" to take on her fledgling law firm's highest-profile case: representing the family of Philando Castile, a black driver who was shot dead by a police officer in a Twin Cities suburb.

Hatchett, the mother of two African-American sons in their early 30s, said the case hit home and the first thing she did upon meeting Castile's mother, Valerie Castile, was give the woman a hug "as one mother to another."

St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez, who is Latino, shot Philando Castile on July 6 after pulling him over, and Castile's girlfriend streamed the shooting's aftermath live on Facebook.

Hatchett was a corporate attorney for Delta Air Lines for nearly a decade before she was appointed chief judge of the Fulton County Juvenile Court in Atlanta and later gained fame for her show, which ran for eight seasons.