To remain consistent with the Butts County Administration Building and other county offices re-opening to the public, the Butts County Magistrate Court will be open to the public beginning Monday, May 18, 2020. On May 11, 2020, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia signed an order extending the Statewide Judicial Emergency until June 12, 2020. However, the new order gives local courts the authority to begin resuming more normal operations with specific guidelines, orders, and safety plans. The court safety plans must be made available to the public, must comply with public health requirements, and contain recommended guidelines of the CDC.
Due to the small size of our courtroom, the Butts County Magistrate Court will continue to conduct as many hearings as possible by video conference. This will include first appearance bond hearings, preliminary hearings, and some civil hearings on a case by case basis. In person hearings can only be held on a limited case by case basis at specific times with strict safety plans for proper social distancing, and additional time necessary to clean in between hearings. The Court is actively reviewing files that are ready for hearings, and will be contacting parties on a case by case basis for scheduling. Please continue to be patient and understand the Court is working diligently to review each file and handle each case fairly and efficiently.
If anyone has any questions or concerns, please contact the Magistrate Court directly at 770-775-8220. All civil cases can be filed in person, by mail, and online at https://www.efilegeorgia.com/. Copies of the Georgia Supreme Court’s Second Order Extending Declaration of Statewide Judicial Emergency as well as the Butts County Magistrate Court Safety Plan are attached for public notice.
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