Magistrate Court

The Magistrate Court oversees many operations for the county, including the resolution of Civil Disputes, County Ordinance Violations, and the issuance of Criminal Arrest and Search Warrants.

Please note we do not accept credit cards at this time.

Note: If you are filing a dispossessory, please click on the + sign next to "Civil Cases" (top left of this page), and then select the "Dispossessories" link for the correct form.

Court Personnel

  • Jason R. Troiano: Chief Magistrate Judge
  • Rodney Quesenberry: Magistrate Judge
  • Dale Jenereaux: Magistrate Judge
  • Madonna Little: Magistrate Judge
  • Hope N Hornsby: Magistrate Judge
  • Jill D. Morris: Magistrate Judge
  • Stephanie Darabaris: Chief Clerk
  • Jonathan Heise: Chief Marshal

For Attorneys

Hearing requests, requests for continuances and other procedural matters will not be considered without an Entry of Appearance filed with the court.

Civil Cases in 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. Click here for more information about Civil Cases (PDF).

Civil Case Management Search

Disclaimer

While every effort is made to keep information provided over the internet accurate and up-to-date, Columbia County does not certify the authenticity or accuracy of such information. No warranties, express or implied, are provided for the records and/or mapping data herein, or for their use or interpretation by the User.

Columbia County, the Columbia County Commission, its elected officials, officers, employees, and agents assume no legal responsibilities for the information or accuracy contained in this data, including any action taken from reliance on any information contained herein and shall have no liability for any damages, losses, costs, or expenses, including, but not limited to attorney's fees, arising from the use or misuse of the information provided herein. The User's use thereof shall constitute an agreement by the User to release Columbia County, the Columbia County Commission, its elected officials, officers, employees and agents from such liability.

By using this information, the User is stating that the above Disclaimer has been read and that he/she has full understanding and is in agreement with the contents. Yes, I Agree

Instructions

  • Click on Civil Case Records.
  • If you know the case number that you are searching for, click on Case.
  • Enter the case number you are looking for and click on search.
    *If the case is older than 2009, you must enter six digits behind the letters. For example: 2008SCG001234 or 2007SCD000123. If the case you are searching for is a 2009 case and beyond, you just have to enter the year, letters and numbers. For example: 2009SCG100 or 2009SCS1234.
  • If you don’t know the case number you are searching for, you can search for a person by clicking on Party.
  • Once you click on Party, enter the first three letters of the person’s last name and follow it with an asterisk (*). Then click in the first name field and enter the first three letters of the person’s first name and follow it with an asterisk (*). Click on search. (For example: If you are searching for Michael Jones, you would enter Jon* in the last name field and Mic* in the first name field.)
  • After you have made a diligent effort to find what you are looking for but still need additional help, please feel free to contact Magistrate Court at 706-868-3316. 

Arrest & Search Warrants

The criminal jurisdiction of Magistrate Court consists of considering and issuing arrest and search warrants, hearing County Ordinance violations and bad check citations, conducting preliminary hearings, First Appearance hearings and setting of bond in most cases.

The law requires that a 'neutral and detached Magistrate' consider sworn testimony before any arrest or search warrant may be issued. Both the United States Constitution and the Georgia Constitution require that a person may only be arrested or his or her home or business searched by law enforcement officials upon a showing of probable cause. Magistrate Judges are available to law enforcement officials 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to consider the applications for arrest and search warrants.

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 'Pre-warrant Hearings' and Magistrate Judges conduct these hearings on a weekly basis.

If a private citizen seeks the arrest of another private citizen a written request for a warrant must be made to the Magistrate Court during normal work hours. The warrant request must be the sworn allegation of the person seeking the warrant. The person requesting the arrest warrant must first make a police report and 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.

If a warrant request is made by a private citizen in the absence of exigent circumstances, the person whose arrest is sought is entitled to receive notice of any scheduled hearing. A hearing will be conducted before a Magistrate Judge and a decision will be made as to whether the arrest warrant should be issued, not issued or some other disposition of the case should be made. If an arrest warrant is issued, the warrant will be forwarded to the Sheriff for execution and the case will ultimately be sent to the District Attorney for prosecution.

When an arrest warrant is issued - without regard as to whether it was requested by a private citizen or a law enforcement official - a Magistrate Judge will consider the issue of bond (bail). In most cases a Magistrate Judge will be responsible for the issue of bond. The Magistrate Judge will consider the facts of the case, the history of the offender, and all other circumstances made known to the Magistrate in deciding the issue of bond. Bond is not intended as punishment, rather, is intended to ensure that the Defendant will appear at trial to answer for the charges. Except in misdemeanor cases, the Magistrate Judge may refuse bond but only if he or she finds that certain circumstances exist which suggest that no amount of bond will ensure that the Defendant will appear for trial or poses such a risk to the community that the Defendant should not be released on bond.

Marshal's Department

Functions of the Marshal's Department consist of the service of civil and criminal papers that are filed within the court, providing courtroom security for all sessions of Magistrate Court, performing all evictions within the county, and assisting plaintiffs with the collection of judgments.

Fieri Facias (FIFA)

A FIFA is a post-judgment order of the court allowing the Marshal to levy upon property of the defendant in order to satisfy the corresponding judgment. In addition, when a FIFA is recorded in superior court a lien is automatically placed on any real property that is owned by the defendant within the county. Once the Marshal's Department receives the FIFA, a money demand will be made; however, a deputy will contact the plaintiff first as the money demand is an optional step in the levy process. If the defendant refuses to pay, or is unable to come up with a payment plan that the plaintiff will accept, the levy process can be initiated. More information regarding the levy process.

Evictions

The eviction process starts when a landlord (or his/her agent) files a dispossessory affidavit in the Magistrate Court of Columbia County. The affidavit is then given to the Marshal's Department for service. Once service is perfected on the defendant (tenant), the defendant has seven days to file an answer with the court. If the tenant fails to answer or is unable to prove their case in court, a writ of possession is granted. At that point, a 48 hour (courtesy) notice is left at the residence and a Deputy Marshal contacts the landlord to schedule the eviction. During the actual eviction a Deputy Marshal will standby in order to ensure that the property is peacefully returned to the landlord. The landlord is responsible for providing all labor as well as paying any costs associated with the eviction.