Joyce Marie Griggs

Griggs was born in Bethnel, North Carolina, to a sharecropper family. Griggs is one of 10 children. Griggs had several jobs in her youth including working on a farm from when she was 5 years old and babysitting while she was in high school. The family was in poverty and her dad was an abusive alcoholic who once stabbed Griggs in the arm. Griggs later said her mother was the "backbone" of her family. Griggs saw the struggle of her mother and wanted her life to be different. A keen reader, she decided to go to college.[1]

Leaving for North Carolina Central University when she was 17, Griggs studied for a bachelor's degree in sociology and later a master's degree in counselling.[2] While at university, Griggs worked two jobs, one with the student union and the other in a seafood restaurant in Durham, North Carolina. Griggs lives in Savannah, Georgia and is the mother of 2 adult children, a son and a daughter, along with 4 grandchildren.[3]

Griggs was a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, where she served 33 years. Deployed in South Korea and the Middle East, she served as an intelligence officer, earning multiple awards for her service, including the Bronze Star Medal and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal among others.[4] 4 of her brothers and 2 of her nephews have military experience (2 in U.S. Navy, 2 in U.S. Army and 2 U.S. Marines).[5]

After returning from the military, Griggs entered the legal profession, studying for her Juris Doctor degree at the John Marshall Law School in Atlanta, Georgia. She often worked for clients pro bono, earning several recognitions for her work.[2]

In February 2004, Griggs was barred from practicing in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia after failing to respond to court orders that led to Griggs’ clients’ cases being dismissed, and making unnecessary claims.[6][7]

In January 2011, Griggs launched a motion for reinstatement based on the argument that her disbarment was beyond the power of a federal district court. The Supreme Court of Georgia denied her request.

A member of the Democratic Party, Griggs ran for office in the United States House of Representatives in 2000, losing out to Jack Kingston by 38.2%.[1]

Griggs again ran for office in 2020, winning the Democratic primary but later losing to Buddy Carter by 16.6%[1] at the 2020 United States presidential election, where she won all but two counties of the district.[8]