04.27.09
What’s with all those municipal courts?
Georgia has a lot of counties and an almost endless list of municipalites. Each county has its own court system, and within these counties, the vast majority of municipalities have their own courts as well. These municipal courts generally have jurisdiction to deal with traffic matters and ordinance violations, as well as DUIs and cases involving the possession of less than one ounce of marijuana. Municipal courts, however, do not have the authority to conduct jury trials. If an accused person wants a jury trial on his charge of DUI, for example, the matter will be transferred (“bound over”) to the state court in that county.
The municipal courts themselves are extremely varied. Larger cities such as Atlanta or Sandy Springs have several judges and full-time solicitors (prosecutors). In smaller cities such as Dallas, the police officers themselves serve as the prosecutors. In either circumstance, a municipal court usually offers the an attorney his first opportunity to investigate and negotiate his client’s case.
While not an exhaustive list, these are some of the metro Atlanta municipalities where we frequently defend DUI matters:
Fulton County:
City of Atlanta
Sandy Springs
Roswell
Alpharetta
Johns Creek
College Park
Union City
East Point
Cobb County:
Marietta
Smyrna
Kennesaw
Powder Springs
Gwinnett County:
Lawrenceville
Duluth
Norcross
Lilburn
Snellville
DeKalb County:
Doraville
Clarkston
Chamblee
Decatur
Fayette County:
Fayetteville
Peachtree City
Douglas County:
Douglasville
Clayton County:
Riverdale
Jonesboro
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