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 when you enter the courthouse. The courthouse is located at 150 Garnett Street, Atlanta Georgia 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 and days of inclement weather). There is no free parking in the area, but there is paid street parking, surface lots, and parking garages within a short walk of the Atlanta courthouse. The City of Atlanta Municipal Court has a website that can be visited by clicking here.

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 two ways.

• Go to Find My Court Case at the Atlanta Municipal Court’s website and put in your full name or citation number: https://benchmark.atlantaga.gov/BenchmarkWeb/Home.aspx/Search If you search by citation number it should pull up your specific case. If you search by name it may bring up multiple cases by case number. The case number begins with the year the case was opened, so that may assist you in your search. You should be able to see all the cases under your name for the last 20 years.

• You can call the Atlanta Municipal Court clerk’s office at 404-954-7914.

There are 8 Judges assigned to courtrooms in the Atlanta Municipal Court. There are also senior Judges and part-time Judges that hear cases in the City of Atlanta Municipal Court. The Judges assigned by courtroom are:

3A – Judge Ward, 3B – Judge Gaines , 5A – Judge Portis, 5B – Judge Baker, 5C – 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 Gundy 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 different times each day. Court begins as early as 8am and the last court times of the day are usually at 3pm.

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. If you would like assistance, I can guide you through the Pre-Trial Intervention program and determine whether I believe your charges will be eligible. The City of Atlanta has a restorative board program in addition to Pre-Trial Intervention that can provide you another options to get your charge dismissed. For younger drivers, they also have a Teens Learning Control (TLC) program.

Clients often come to me 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 may be issued for your arrest. If you do not address your failure to appear in thirty (30) 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 at the City of Atlanta Municipal Court and speak with a clerk to get your case placed back on a calendar. It may not be that day that your case is heard. On your day of court. you will 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. If you have questions regarding a case in the city of Atlanta Municipal Court and would like to speak with an experienced Atlanta Municipal Court attorney, call me today at 678-753-6431.