Fulton County Superior Court

I was surprised recently when someone said they didn't know that the Fulton County Superior Court is the largest and busiest trial court of general jurisdiction in the State of Georgia.

I really shouldn't have been. As The Eagles song Center of the Universe points out, "This isn't the center of the universe, it's just where I want to be." So allow me to introduce the Court.

With 20 Judges elected countywide and a staff of some 200, Fulton County Superior Court is the largest and busiest trial court of general jurisdiction in the State of Georgia.

Judges of Superior Court in Georgia hear administrative appeals and preside over civil, major criminal, and domestic relations cases.

Fulton County, with a population in excess of 960,000, comprises the Atlanta Judicial Circuit, Georgia’s only single-county Judicial Circuit. Fulton County includes Atlanta, the state’s capitol.

The Court offers a variety of programs and services designed to provide the citizens of Fulton County with meaningful access to the judicial system.

• Alternative Dispute Resolution - The ADR Program provides citizens methods to resolve legal disputes other than the traditional trial. Civil mediation, case evaluation, and non-binding civil arbitration are speedier alternatives offered to parties in civil and domestic actions filed in the Superior and State Courts.

• Caseflow Management - This office keeps track of all cases - criminal, civil, and domestic relations - as they proceed through our court. Caseflow Management also generates the annual case count to determine the exact number, type, and nature of each case considered by a Superior Court Judge.

• Business Court - Established by the Georgia Supreme Court in 2005, the Business Court provides a specialized venue for complex commercial litigation with damages sought in excess of $1 million dollars or that involve contractual disputes, commercial litigation, securities, or questions of corporate, limited liability company or partnership law. Its efficiency and success have greatly increased the number of cases filed in Business Court.

• Drug Court - Since 1997 our treatment-oriented accountability court has proven effective for non-violent, drug dependent offenders. More than 400 individuals are enrolled in this innovative accountability court. Defendants who successfully complete the requirements of the 12-18 month program at "Hope Hall," avoid jail time, while rebuilding their lives. 67 percent of graduates never commit another crime.

• Family Court - Ours was the first Family Court in Georgia. Begun in July 1998, it includes legal, psychological, and social services professionals who help resolve multiple family disputes in a coordinated, non-confrontational, and speedy manner. Family Court’s free internet-based I-CAN! program helps self-represented individuals complete legal forms in domestic cases.

• Jury Services - More than 100,000 citizens are called for jury service in Fulton County each year. To accommodate citizens, Superior Court was the first court in Georgia to adopt the One Trial/One Day service term. Superior Court trial jurors serve a term of either one trial or one day.

• Law Library - The Law Library serves the legal information needs of the local judiciary, members of the Georgia State Bar, Fulton County citizens, and local government departments. The Law Library also operates the Jail Law Library, which provides legal materials for Fulton County Jail detainees.

• Mental Health Court - Established in 2006, the Mental Health Court is operated in partnership with Fulton County Mental Health Department’s Division of Addictive Diseases. In the first year the Court had supervised 43 defendants who had been arrested 766 times prior to entering the Mental Health Court. Thirty-five percent had been in prison and most had been hospitialized for mental disorders. Recidivism was 11 percent after the first year of operation.

• Pretrial Services - Pretrial Services is a 24-hours-a-day, 7 days-a-week supervised release program. Pretrial officers screen, assess and intensively supervise qualified defendants prior to their trial. 97 percent of pretrial defendants observe all release requirements and appear at all court hearings.

• Public Information and Court Tours - Through brochures, press releases, its website www.fultoncourt.org and printed publications, the Court seeks to keep the public informed about Court services and the judicial system. The Court also provides Court Tours for citizens to speak to a Judge, observe a court proceeding. Contact pio@fultoncourt.org for information.