Magistrate Court

The civil jurisdiction of Magistrate Court includes
dispossessory actions (evictions), garnishments, and general civil actions where the amount of the controversy does not exceed $15,000. A civil case is one where a party seeks money damages from another party for alleged wrongs.

The types of civil cases which the Court generally hears are suits for money owed from one party to another, claims for damage to person or property, landlord/tenant disputes, writs of possession matters and breach of contract cases.  The only types of civil cases which cannot be considered by Magistrate Court are divorces, cases where equitable relief is sought and issues involving the title to land. All other civil matters may be heard by Magistrate Court, provided the amount in controversy does not exceed $15,000.

The procedures of the Magistrate Court are intended to promote the efficient resolution of disputes. Parties may represent themselves on matters before the Magistrate Court or may elect to have legal counsel represent them. Magistrate Court is the only Georgia court in which a corporation may represent itself in a civil matter. However, many parties find that hiring an attorney to represent them in Court allows their case to be presented effectively and efficiently, ensuring that all procedural and evidentiary rules are followed. A non-attorney may not represent a party other than themself in any Georgia court. The Court will always try to accept into evidence all admissible and relevant evidence. However, if a party does not have admissible evidence or does not know how to have their evidence admitted, the Court cannot teach the parties those rules during a hearing.

A civil case is initiated by the Plaintiff filing a Complaint against the Defendant. The Complaint must set forth the basis of the claim that the Plaintiff has against the Defendant, provide the address of the Defendant and state a claim for damages. Magistrate Court has forms available for the Plaintiff to file the Complaint. The Plaintiff must also pay the filing and service fee to initiate the case.

• • Filing fee (1 Defendant to be served) $95.00 If multiple defendants live at the same address, there will be a $15 fee per additional defendant.
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  • Service Fee for each additional Defendant $50.00 each if the defendants do not live at the same address.

  
  

• There are no limits to the number of Plaintiffs or Defendants which may be parties to the case. However, venue must be proper in Bulloch County under Georgia law.

After the Complaint is filed and the Filing Fees are paid,  the Constables will serve the Defendant with a copy of the lawsuit as required by law. The Defendant must then file an Answer to the Complaint within the time limits required by law. There are very specific time limitations on the filing of an Answer and the Defendant is charged with the responsibility of knowing and meeting those time demands. If the Defendant fails to file a timely Answer, the Plaintiff will receive a default judgment upon request without further notice to the Defendant for the amount set forth in the Complaint.

Magistrate Court has forms available for the Defendant to
use in filing an Answer. However, no specific form is required. The Defendant may also file a Counterclaim against the Plaintiff, alleging that the Plaintiff owes damages to the Defendant. There is no filing fee for the Answer. The Answer may allege that the Defendant does not owe anything to the Plaintiff or that the Defendant admits owing some amount but disagrees with the amount requested by the Plaintiff. Assuming that there is a timely Answer filed with Magistrate Court, the case will then be set for hearing or mediation.

Civil cases are heard weekly. Usually, the case will be
heard by either the Chief Magistrate Judge or the Associate Magistrate Judge. The Hearing Clerk will send a hearing notice to the parties at the address provided by the respective parties. It is important to keep the Hearing Clerk advised of any changes of address that may occur. The failure of a party to appear for trial will likely result in an adverse ruling to the party who failed to appear, including the dismissal of the case or a default judgment.

Prior to hearing, the Georgia Rules of Magistrate Court may
require the parties to meet in mediation and discuss the possibility of settling the matter without a hearing. Parties will be notified by the Ogeechee Judicial Circuit Alternate Dispute Resolution Department of the date and time of mediation. 

If a party is dissatisfied with the results of their hearing, they have the right to appeal.  Appeals must be done within thirty (30) days of the decision, in writing, to the Bulloch County Clerk of Court.

This page is intended to provide a brief overview of the
process of a civil case in Magistrate Court.  This site is not intended to provide legal advice and the Court is specifically prohibited from giving legal advice. The Court encourages all parties who are considering legal action to seek the advice of an attorney before proceeding.

There are times when a private individual will seek the
arrest of another private individual for an alleged crime. Georgia law requires a hearing before an arrest warrant can be issued at the request of a private individual for the arrest of another private individual except in very limited circumstances. These hearings are referred to as ‘Probable Cause Hearings’ and the Magistrate Judge will decide if an arrest warrant will be issued at that time.

If a private citizen seeks the arrest of another private
citizen a probable cause application must be filed with the Magistrate Courtduring normal work hours. A police report is encouraged, but not required.  The applicant will need the name, address, Social Security Number, date of birth and other identifying information for the alleged offender. Although some of this information may be difficult to obtain, the information is required because, assuming a warrant is issued, law enforcement will need the information to enter the warrant into the Georgia Crime Information Center’s computer. If the warrant fails to have this
information, law enforcement officials will have no way to locate and identify the offender.

Bulloch County has established a set of laws, known as County Ordinances, which make certain actions illegal.  The actions which are illegal under County Ordinances may also constitute a violation of State law or other laws but the County has elected to prosecute the case as a County Ordinance violation.  All violations of County Ordinances are misdemeanors and are referred to Magistrate Court for resolution.

Magistrate Court presides over all county ordinance violations, including but not limited to:  animal control violations, Clean Community violations, and violations of zoning ordinances.  Hearings on County Ordinance violations occur several times each month and are presided over by either the Chief Magistrate Judge or the Associate Magistrate Judge.

This site is intended to give a general overview of the process and procedure of a County Ordinance violation in Magistrate Court.  The Court is specifically prohibited from giving legal advice and this site is not intended to provide legal advice.  The Court encourages all persons charged with a criminal offense to seek the advice of legal counsel before making any court appearance.