MUNICIPAL COURTS
There are many different types of courts in Georgia including both state and federal
courts, trial courts and appellate courts. Aside from federal courts, the highest state court is the
Georgia Supreme Court, which may choose to hear appeals from the Georgia Court of Appeals,
has the final authority on the interpretation of the state Constitution and governs the practice of
law in Georgia.1
There are a variety of state trial level courts in Georgia. Superior courts have original
jurisdiction in numerous types of civil cases, serve as the exclusive trial court for the
adjudication of felony criminal offenses, and serve as courts of appeal from decisions in
municipal court.2 State courts are county level trial courts that only exist in some counties and
have jurisdiction over certain civil matters and misdemeanor criminal cases.3 Probate courts are
countywide courts that in some areas hear traffic offenses that occur in the unincorporated area,
and that oversee estate matters, gun and marriage licensing and some election matters.4
Magistrate courts are county level courts that hold first appearance hearings for state and
superior court and have jurisdiction over county ordinance offenses.5 Magistrate judges also
issue warrants authorizing searches and arrest.6 Municipal courts are city level courts that have
jurisdiction over traffic cases arising within the city limits, cases involving municipal ordinances,
and certain specified misdemeanor offenses.7 Decisions in municipal court may be appealed to
the superior court and from there to the Court of Appeals or possibly the Supreme Court.8
Procedure
The primary purpose of municipal court, like other trial courts, is to afford an impartial
forum for the adjudication of disputes, which in municipal court usually involves a misdemeanor
criminal defendant or someone accused of violating one or more provisions of an ordinance. In
criminal matters, either misdemeanors or ordinance violations, the defendant is entitled to the
protection of a host of federal and state constitutional rights. All parties appearing in court are
entitled to due process, which generally means an opportunity to plead their case to a neutral
judge, and to present and challenge evidence.9 These rights also include the right to be
represented by counsel and the right to have counsel appointed at government expense if the
defendant cannot afford counsel.10 Misdemeanor defendants in Georgia are entitled to a jury
trial.11 Although municipal courts have the authority to conduct bench trials, they do not have the
authority to hold jury trials. Thus, in certain cases where criminal defendants insist on their right
to a jury trial, a transfer of the case to a state or superior court may be necessary. Although some
defendants may knowingly choose to waive their right to counsel, in order to hear a case,
municipal court must provide lawyers to indigent defendants that request them.12 It is necessary
that interpreters be provided for defendants that have a limited proficiency in the English
language.13
The event that triggers a criminal case is either the issuance of a citation or an arrest.
Citations are written notices that serve in lieu of arrest and typically give the defendant notice of
the crime charged and a summons to appear in court. For some offenses, such as driving under
the influence, a defendant is usually arrested. Once arrested, most defendants are able to post bail
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or bond in order to leave the jail and return to court at a later date to answer the charges.
Defendants that fail to appear in court typically forfeit their bond. Courts usually issue warrants
for a defendant’s arrest if they fail to appear. Although most of the offenses heard in municipal
court are relatively minor in comparison to those heard in superior court, some of them carry
mandatory jail time.14 Additional procedural requirements in municipal court are covered by the
Uniform Rules of Municipal Court.15
Jurisdiction
Traffic offenses
State law authorizes municipal court to hear violations of state and local traffic laws that
occur within the city limits. State traffic offenses are misdemeanors and as such in some cases
may carry penalties of up to one year in prison and a one thousand dollar fine.16
Other misdemeanors
The state has authority to grant jurisdiction over certain misdemeanor offenses to
municipal courts. The penalties that may be imposed for these offenses in municipal court are
typically identified in the statute granting jurisdiction. Examples of these offenses include
possession of less than one ounce of marijuana and shoplifting property valued at $300 or less.17
Ordinance Violations
Cities may proscribe certain conduct that is not already prohibited by state law and
provide for appropriate punishment.18 State law establishes that the maximum punishment for
ordinance offenses is six months incarceration and fines of one thousand dollars per offense.19
Some municipal charters limit the city to lesser maximum punishments for ordinance offenses.
Not all ordinance cases that are heard in municipal court are strictly criminal in nature.
For example, some cities have adopted nuisance abatement ordinances which allow complaints
to be brought against property owners for maintaining nuisances or allowing code violations to
persist. In these instances, the city is either represented by a code enforcement officer or a code
enforcement officer is the city’s main witness. In such cases, in addition to traditional fines, the
court has the power to order abatement of a nuisance, provided that the city can prove its case.
Court Personnel
Judges
The presiding official in municipal court is the municipal court judge. A part-time judge
or several full time judges, or some combination of both, may staff municipal court depending
upon the size of the city’s caseload. State law requires that municipal court judges be attorneys
and active members in good standing with the State Bar of Georgia, although non-lawyer judges
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that were serving as of June 30, 2011 may continue to do so as long as they continue to obtain
mandatory annual training.20 Most municipal judges are appointed by the governing authority of
the city although a few are elected.21 The conduct of municipal court judges, like that of all
judges in the state is prescribed by the Georgia Code of Judicial Conduct adherence to which is
enforced by the Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC)22 and the state Supreme Court.23 The
JQC and the Supreme Court have the authority to remove a judge from the bench for violations
of the Code of Judicial Conduct (GCJC).24 Judges have the duty of sitting in an impartial
manner, and advising defendants of their rights and are prohibited from participating in ex parte
communications25 with municipal officials. Municipal court judges are required to obtain
training from the Municipal Courts Training Council.26
Clerks
Typically, most municipal courts are staffed by one or more court administrators or clerks
employed by the city that must answer to both the city governing authority and the judges. Court
staff is governed by the same set of ethical rules that govern judicial behavior. Court employees
are thus also barred from engaging in ex parte communication with parties and from giving legal
advice to parties appearing before the court.27 The tasks of municipal court clerks, which include
processing warrants and sentences issued by the judge and collecting fines and fees paid into the
court, require careful diligence. Failure to properly process paperwork can lead to false arrest and
failure to properly administer court fees is in many instances a crime itself.28 Employees
assigned to work in municipal court should thus be properly trained. State law requires that
municipal court clerks receive annual training.29
Public Defenders
As stated above, defendants in municipal court that are unable to afford an attorney are
entitled to have one appointed to represent them at the city’s expense if they face the possibility
of incarceration. Defendants attempting to assert their rights to indigent counsel usually complete
an application indicating their income and assets as well as their debts and liabilities. Lawyers
provided to criminal defendants are often called “public defenders.” Cities can provide these
lawyers through several different mechanisms. Cities can choose to have an appointed list
through which the municipal court judge will appoint lawyers to represent different defendants at
a set rate. Cities can also hire full-time or part-time lawyers to appear in court and handle cases
of indigent defendants that request counsel. The Georgia Public Defender Standards Council is
charged with promulgating standards for how many cases a public defender can handle, the
minimum qualifications for such attorneys and establishing standards for determining the
financial eligibility of persons claiming indigence.30 Because public defenders represent the
criminal defendant, even if their employer is the government, they must abide by the ethical rules
that govern lawyers and zealously represent the defendant’s position under the rules of the
adversary system.31
Prosecuting Attorneys
Municipalities are authorized to appoint prosecuting attorneys to represent the city’s
interest in cases in municipal court.32 Prosecuting attorneys must be members in good standing
of the State Bar of Georgia and admitted to practice in the appellate courts of Georgia.33
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Depending on the size of the city’s caseload, prosecutors can be part-time or full-time. Full time
municipal court prosecutors may not engage in the private practice of law and part-time
municipal court prosecutors may not engage in private practice in municipal court nor appear in
private practice in any matter in which they have exercised jurisdiction as a prosecutor.34
Although state law merely authorizes and does not mandate the appointment of a municipal court
prosecutor, it is particularly important that cities have attorneys representing the prosecution in
criminal cases that carry mandatory jail time such as driving under the influence, where failure to
create a proper record can result in costly appeals and conviction reversals.
Sentencing
Because most of the cases in municipal court are criminal, persons found guilty are
issued a criminal sentence. The sentence typically includes a fine, but may also include jail time
for certain offenses. In some instances, defendants are sentenced to probation in order to require
them to comply with certain conditions of their sentence. Failure to comply with the terms of
probation may trigger a probation revocation hearing. Should the city prove that a defendant has
violated his or her probation, the judge may choose to revoke all or a portion of a probated
sentence and send a defendant to jail. Probation is a mechanism used by courts to encourage
defendants to meet certain conditions rather than send them to jail. If the conditions of probation
are met, a defendant usually has their case closed. Conditions of probation can include such
things as payment of fines, community service, and attendance at driver safety courses.
Municipalities can choose to operate their own probation department with city employees or they
can contract with private probation companies to perform the service.35 If a municipality chooses
to have its own employees serve as probation officers, they must receive training required by
state law.36 Both the municipal court judge and the governing authority of the city must agree to
a contract with a private probation company.37 Case law suggests that a municipal court judge
may be terminated for not agreeing to a probation contract desired by the city.38
Fines
Because most of the offenses heard in municipal court are minor in nature, fines are the
most common punishments imposed. The amounts of fines are limited by the statute or
ordinance creating the offense, the general state law parameters for misdemeanors, or by the
municipal charter.39
Fees
Fees or “fine add-ons” as they are sometimes called are imposed in addition to a
defendant’s fine. These are usually imposed by state law and require that either additional
percentages of the amount of the fine or flat amounts be sent to different governmental agencies.
These fees must be carefully accounted for and distributed to the appropriate agencies in
accordance with state law.
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Incarceration
Although most of the cases in municipal court do not result in jail time, some offenses
carry mandatory jail time; and on some occasions, courts may revoke probation, which results in
a defendant having to serve jail time. Incarceration is very costly, as adequate facilities are a
constitutional requirement. Most cities contract with the county for the provision of jail services
for any municipal court defendants that are sentenced to incarceration.
NOTES
1
See generally Chapter 2 of Title 15 of the O.C.G.A.; Chapter 3 of Title 15 of the O.C.G.A.; Ga. Const. Art. VI, § 1,
¶ 1; Ga. Const. Art. VI, § VI, ¶ II.
2
See generally Chapter 6 of Title 15 of the O.C.G.A.
3
See generally Chapter 7 of Title 15 of the O.C.G.A.
4
See generally Chapter 9 of Title 15 of the O.C.G.A.
5
See generally Chapter 10 of Title 15 of the O.C.G.A.
6
Id.
7
See generally Chapter 32 of Title 36of the O.C.G.A.
8
See generally Chapter 4 of Title 5 of the O.C.G.A.
9
See generally U.S. Const. Amendment 5 & 14.
10
See Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963).
11
Geng v. State, 276 Ga. 428 (2003).
12
Alabama v. Shelton, 122 S.Ct. 1764 (2002).
13
See Rule 14 of the Uniform Rules of Municipal Court, http://www.gasupreme.us/rules/rules.php .
14
See e.g. O.C.G.A. § 40-6-391.
15
http://www.georgiacourts.org/index.php/court-rules
16
See O.C.G.A. § 17-10-3(a)(1).
17
O.C.G.A. §§ 36-32-6, 36-32-9.
18
O.C.G.A. § 36-35-3.
19
O.C.G.A. § 36-35-6(a)(2).
20
O.C.G.A. § 36-32-1.1.
21
See O.C.G.A. § 36-32-2.
22
http://www.gajqc.com/
23
http://www.gasupreme.us/
24
See Georgia Code of Judicial Conduct,
http://www.gajqc.com/media/Judicial%20Code%20and%20Rules%202005.pdf#page=8
25
Id. Ex parte communication means “on one side only”, in this context, judges may not communicate in substance
about a case with only one side, without a representative of the other side of a case present. See Black’s Law
Dictionary, West Publishing (6th ed. 1990).
26
O.C.G.A. § 36-32-27.
27
Code of Judicial Conduct 3(B)(7).
28
See e.g. O.C.G.A. § 15-21-134.
29
O.C.G.A. § 36-32-13.
30
O.C.G.A. § 17-12-1 et. seq.
31
See Preamble, Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct.
32
O.C.G.A. § 15-18-91.
33
O.C.G.A. § 15-18-92.
34
O.C.G.A. § 15-18-94.
35
O.C.G.A. § 42-8-100(g)(1).
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36
O.C.G.A. § 35-8-13.1.
O.C.G.A. § 42-8-100(g)(1).
38
See Ward v. Cairo. 276 Ga. 391 (2003).
39
O.C.G.A. § 17-10-3.
37
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