Georgia Court Case Lookup
A court case in Georgia is a dispute involving disagreeing parties whereby a court or an equivalent legal proceeding is used to arrive at a resolution. To resolve the case, the court independently decides what the facts are and how the laws of Georgia state are applicable to the facts.
A court case typically involves two parties:
- A complainant (accuser or plaintiff); and
- A defendant (or offender)
The complainant is the party who files charges against the defendant. A party may be an individual, an organization, or several persons.
However, not all court cases involve disagreeing parties or a complainant and a defendant. In some cases, parties require a court ruling to substantiate some legal actions (for example, a divorce or child support).
There are two types of court cases (or law). They are:
- Criminal case
- Civil case
In a criminal case, an individual suspected of committing a criminal offense is arraigned for such an offense by a Georgia district attorney or prosecutor. In a civil case, on the other hand, the complainant files a complaint in a court in Georgia about actions taken by the defendant and the damages the complainant has suffered due to such actions and demands an intervention or remedy by the court.
Are Court Cases Public Record in Georgia?
Yes, in Georgia, court case records are available to the public. This is made possible by the Georgia Open Records Act. However, there are exceptions for special cases if the case record in question has content that is considered sensitive. A common example of such records is a juvenile court case. Juvenile case records available to the public are those of felonies and child care support or custody.
Case records that are unavailable to the public are, however, accessible by certain persons whom the court has authorized. Also, people who are involved in the case have access to the records. In Georgia, members of the public who want to view a court record can either find such records online or make a written request through the court clerk of the courtroom in charge of the case.
How to Conduct a Georgia Court Case Lookup
Anyone can look up information about a case in any court in Georgia. But before one can do so, they must have registered an account on the Georgia Courts site through which they want to access the case records. However, some cases that are considered sensitive are sealed from public access.
Can I Get Georgia Court Case Documents Online?
Yes, anyone can access a Georgia court case online through a smartphone, computer, or tablet. But first, they need a registered account on the website they wish to use for the search and an active internet connection.
Such records are available both on the official website and on third-party sites. For one to find such records on the site, they can either search by the name of the individual involved or by the last location the individual was found.
How to Conduct a Georgia Court Search by Name
Before a person is able to search for a court record in Georgia they must register an account on the official website. Registration on the site requires that they provide their first name, surname, email, and password.
After registration, the person conducting the search can proceed to sign in and search or select the court in charge of the case. After that, they enter the name of an individual involved in the case in the provided search field on the site.
What is a Court Case Number?
A court case number is a number that a court assigns to a case to allow for easy tracking or retrieval. The court case number carries important information such as the year the case was filed, the nature of the case, and the serial number assigned to the case by the court.
A court case number usually contains numbers, letters, and special characters. People involved in the case must keep the case number handy for future reference to the case.
How to Conduct a Case Number Search in Georgia
In Georgia, individuals who have the case number of a court case can pull up records about the case. However, one can only search by case number if the site they're using to conduct the search offers tools for case number search.
All they have to do is enter the case number in the field provided for that purpose on the site.
More popular methods of conducting case searches are by the names of parties involved in the case, attorneys involved in the case, and the name of the court sitting on the case.
How to Remove Court Cases From Public Record in Georgia
A person can remove their case from Georgia public court records either automatically or by petition. Despite restrictions from public records, certain authorized judicial officials and justice agencies still have access to such court case records.
Some criteria that qualify an individual's court case to be removed from public records are:
- The charges filed against the person were dismissed or dropped.
- The verdict of such a case trial was 'not guilty'.
- The defaulter completed their probation term and has not been charged for another case in the following four years.
If the court does not automatically drop a case after these criteria are met, the concerned individual has the right to petition for record restriction. However, not all criminal cases are eligible for restriction. Some ineligible cases for restriction are child molestation, DUIs, armed robbery, murder, and sexual battery.
To remove a court case from public records in Georgia, the following steps are required:
- Find out if your case is eligible for restriction,
- If found eligible, find an expungement lawyer or a criminal attorney
- File a petition for restriction at the appropriate court
- Distribute the petition to relevant agencies.
Furthermore, a record restriction petition must include the following:
- The offender tracking number (OTN) of the case the offender wants to restrict
- Filing fee
- Evidence to convince the court that the case record is having a harmful impact on you. Such harms may be a difficulty to get a job or obtain housing
- A draft order.
How to Check a Court Case Status in Georgia
To check a court case status in Georgia, one can use either the traditional website of the courtroom handling the case or relevant sites with search tools made for that purpose. Once they log onto the page, all they have to do is search for the case by the case number, filing year, or type of case. They can then proceed to click the appropriate button on the page to check the case status.
How to Find Supreme Court Decisions in Georgia
Anyone in Georgia can find supreme court decisions in any case if they can find the case record either online or at the courthouse. The Supreme Court Journal also makes this information publicly available since their decisions are documents that are properties of the U.S. government.
To find such court decisions, one can search for the case on the Georgia Supreme Court opinions page.
What Percentage of Court Cases Go to Trial in Georgia?
There are no records of the exact number of court cases that go to trial in Georgia. However, a greater percentage of court cases in Georgia doesn't go to trial as they get settled through plea bargains.
How Long Does a Court Case Last in Georgia?
There are no fixed time frames within which a court case should last in Georgia. Cases may last for months or extend into several years.
However, there is a time frame within which a suspect must be charged in court for a crime. This is contained in the Statute of Limitation (SOL). The SOL varies for different cases.
For misdemeanors, the time between when the crime was committed and when the suspect is charged to the court mustn't exceed two years. Felony theft suspects must be charged in court within 4 years. For more serious crimes like murder and rape, the status of limitation is infinite.
How to File a Case in Court in Georgia
To file a case in a Georgia state court, be it civil or criminal, one has to first meet the court clerk of the court in which they want to make the filing. More importantly, the court should be located in the resident county of the defendant.
Some courts require a filing fee for case filings. While making the complaint, the plaintiff must provide the address of the person (if known) they are suing to make the serving of summons easier.
If any of the involved parties is dissatisfied with the court's decision, they have the right to move the case to an appellate court through an appeal.
What Does It Mean if a Court Case Was Resolved Before the Trial Date?
If a court case was resolved before the trial date, it means that the parties involved in the case found an alternative way to resolve their dispute before a formal court trial.
Some ways to do this are through arbitration, conciliation, neutral conferences, and settlement conferences.
- Arbitration: This method involves the intervention of an arbitrator who listens to both parties and settles the case instead of letting them go through a costlier court proceeding.
- Conciliation: The court appoints a conciliator who hears both parties separately and helps them get a resolution they both agree to. The conciliator acts independently of the court.
- Settlement conferences: Both parties meet the judge along with their respective lawyers before a court trial. This typically happens earlier in the pretrial phase of the case.
- Neutral conferences: A mediator is hired to make both parties reach an agreement they both consider fair.
