by Ryan Walsh

We get questions every day about how the Atlanta Municipal Court operates on a day to day basis. The Atlanta Municipal Court is the busiest courthouse in the southeast, and it is easy to get overwhelmed in the process. It is located at 150 Garnett Street, Atlanta, GA 30303 on the corner of Pryor Street and Garnett Street in downtown Atlanta. The courthouse is open from 7am – 5pm Monday through Friday (excluding city holidays).

The most important thing you can do to prepare for court at the Atlanta Municipal Court is to verify your court date and time. You can do this in three ways.

Two of those methods are done through online searches:

• Go to Find My Court Case at the Atlanta Municipal Court’s website and put in your full name or citation number: http://court.atlantaga.gov/mycase/
• You can search daily dockets for the current month of cases through the Atlanta Courtview system: http://courtview.atlantaga.gov/courtcalendars/default.aspx?Calendar=D Click on the date of your scheduled appearance and scroll through the court dates until you find your name. It should also tell you the time of your appearance and courtroom you are assigned.
• Finally, you can call the Atlanta Municipal Court clerk’s office at 404-954-7914.

There are 10 Judges assigned to courtrooms in the Atlanta Municipal Court. Those Judges assigned by courtroom are:

3A – Judge Ward, 3B – Judge Gaines , 5A – Judge Portis, 5B – Judge Butler, 5C – Judge Sloan, 5D – Judge Dupre, 6A – Judge Bey, 6B – Judge Gundy, 6C – Judge Graves, and 6D – Judge Jackson

Judge Ward currently handles clients who have previously failed to appear in court. Judge Sloan only handles clients who are charged with Driving under the Influence (DUI). Judge Portis only handles code violations, which are generally residential, business, and noise ordinances. The other Judges handle a combination of state law offenses (traffic and some misdemeanors) and city ordinances.

Court is held at four times each day. Court times are 8:00am, 10:00am, 1:00pm, and 3:00pm. Depending which Judge you are assigned to will determine the time you need to appear in court each day.

Some charges in the City of Atlanta are eligible for the Pre-Trial Intervention program. Completion of the Pre-Trial Intervention program assures your case will be dismissed and your record will be restricted. Our office of experienced attorneys can guide you through the Pre-Trial Intervention program and determine whether we believe your charges will be eligible.

Clients often come to our office after failing to appear in court. Once you fail to appear in court in the Atlanta Municipal Court, your case is taken off the calendar and a bench warrant is issued for your arrest. If you do not address your failure to appear in twenty-one (21) days, the Atlanta Municipal Court sends information to the Georgia Department of Driver Services to suspend your Georgia driver’s license or your privilege to drive in the State of Georgia. At that point your case must be resolved in order to receive documentation to re-instate your driver’s license.

In order to get a court date after you fail to appear in court, you must show up between 7 and 8am at the City of Atlanta Courthouse. You will go downstairs to courtroom 1B where they will add your case to the failure to appear courtroom that day. That courtroom is courtroom 3A. You will then have the option to resolve your case through a plea, or ask for a trial. No matter what happens, you will receive paperwork that recalls the active bench warrant. After your case is resolved you will receive the paperwork to reinstate your driver’s license with the Department of Driver Services to lift any current suspension due to failing to appear.

The Atlanta Municipal Court is the busiest courthouse in the Southeast, handling more cases daily than any other courthouse. Navigating the court process can be difficult. Our firm handles charges in Atlanta every day. We are here to answer your questions and help you. Call us today at 404-581-0999 for a free consultation.