ga-county-courts · diff
v0.1.0 to v0.1.0
172 added, 32 removed. Audit A to A.
---
name: ga-county-courts
description: >
- Use when filing in a Georgia court other than Fulton County Superior Court or Cobb County Superior Court. Covers the most-populous counties' civil courts plus a statewide directory of all counties.
+ Use when handling a Georgia case in any county NOT covered by the
+ dedicated venue skills (`ga-fulton`, `ga-cobb`, `ga-gwinnett`). A
+ rest-of-state roll-up that drives the per-county research workflow:
+ identify the county's judicial circuit, whether it has a State Court,
+ its Magistrate Court, which e-filing platform it uses (PeachCourt vs.
+ Odyssey eFileGA), the local rules, and the clerk's filing and fee
+ practices. Triggers: "file in [other Georgia county]", "my Georgia
+ county court", "which e-filing system Georgia", "PeachCourt or
+ eFileGA", "what circuit is [county] in", "does [county] have a State
+ Court", "Superior Court of [county]", "Georgia county clerk filing",
+ "Georgia local court rules". Statewide rules (CPA, the Uniform State /
+ Superior / Magistrate Court Rules, O.C.G.A. § 9-11-10 format) apply
+ everywhere; local practice and standing orders vary by circuit.
+ Layers on top of `ga-statewide-format`.
version: 0.1.0
---
- # Georgia County Courts
+ # Georgia County Courts — Rest-of-State Roll-Up
- > **TODO**: Author substantive content. This is a scaffolded
- > stub. Research the Georgia analog from authoritative sources
- > before writing — do not search-and-replace from another
- > state plugin.
+ > **NOT LEGAL ADVICE.** Drafting and filing guidance only. Verify
+ > every step against the current local rules of the filing court, the
+ > assigned judge's standing orders, and the clerk's practices before
+ > filing. County and circuit practices change; confirm with the clerk
+ > before relying on anything here.
- > **NOT LEGAL ADVICE.** These notes describe the venue's
- > procedural mechanics as a drafting aid, not legal advice.
- > Local rules and judge-specific practices change; verify
- > with the clerk and the current local rules before relying
- > on anything here.
+ Use this skill in addition to `ga-statewide-format` when the case is
+ in a Georgia county **other than** Fulton, Cobb, or Gwinnett (which
+ have their own venue skills: `ga-fulton`, `ga-cobb`, `ga-gwinnett`).
+ Georgia has **159 counties** — far too many for one skill each — so
+ the long tail is handled by a **per-county research workflow** plus
+ this roll-up. The statewide rules are uniform; what varies county to
+ county is the **court structure**, the **e-filing platform**, the
+ **local rules**, and the **clerk's practices**.
- ## State context
+ ## What is uniform statewide (applies in every county)
- - **State**: Georgia
- - **Format rule**: O.C.G.A. § 9-11-10 + Uniform Superior Court Rules
- - **Civil rules**: Georgia Civil Practice Act (O.C.G.A. Title 9, Ch. 11)
- - **Evidence rules**: Georgia Evidence Code (O.C.G.A. Title 24)
- - **Style manual**: Georgia appellate citation (Bluebook-based)
+ - The **Georgia Civil Practice Act** (O.C.G.A. Title 9, Chapter 11) —
+ same answer, default, discovery, and summary-judgment rules
+ everywhere.
+ - The **Uniform Superior Court Rules**, the parallel **Uniform State
+ Court Rules**, and the **Uniform Magistrate Court Rules**.
+ - The **pleading-format baseline** (O.C.G.A. § 9-11-10 caption,
+ numbered paragraphs, separate counts) plus the marketplace format
+ baseline — see `ga-statewide-format`.
- ## What to author
+ ## What varies by county (the per-county research workflow)
- 1. Description: replace the placeholder with realistic trigger
- phrases for how a Georgia pro se filer would ask about this
- 2. Body: substantive content matching the role
- 3. Composition notes: which other ga- skills this layers
- with
- 4. References: the supporting `references/*.md` files
+ Before drafting or filing in a non-flagship county, work through these
+ steps:
- ## References to author
+ ### 1. Identify the county's judicial circuit (O.C.G.A. § 15-6-1)
- - Research the Georgia analog from authoritative sources
- before authoring; do NOT search-and-replace from another
- state plugin
+ Every county sits in a **judicial circuit**; the Superior Court judges
+ are assigned by circuit. There are roughly **50 circuits** (the AOC's
+ 2024 workload assessment counts **51**), and **the count is in flux —
+ the General Assembly amends § 15-6-1 frequently**, splitting and
+ adding circuits. **Verify the current circuit for the filing county**
+ (and the current circuit count) against § 15-6-1 and the
+ georgiacourts.gov directory rather than relying on a memorized list. A
+ single-county circuit (e.g., the metro counties) and a multi-county
+ circuit are administered differently.
- ## Cross-references
+ ### 2. Determine whether the county has a State Court
- - `ga-statewide-format` for format baseline
- - `ga-fulton` / `ga-cobb` / `ga-county-courts` for venue
- - `ga-pro-se` for pro se conventions
+ State Courts exist **only where created by local act**, in **fewer
+ than half** of the 159 counties. If the county **has** a State Court,
+ civil actions of any amount (except equity / divorce / title-to-land /
+ felony) typically file there — see `ga-state-court`. If it **does
+ not**, those civil actions file in the county's **Superior Court**
+ instead. **Confirm the county's State Court status** before choosing
+ the forum.
+
+ ### 3. Locate the Magistrate Court
+
+ Every county has a **Magistrate Court** for small-claims (within the
+ current O.C.G.A. § 15-10-2(5) cap), dispossessory, and garnishment —
+ see `ga-magistrate`. Confirm the local Magistrate Court's filing
+ practices and whether it supplies statement-of-claim forms.
+
+ ### 4. Identify the e-filing platform (PeachCourt vs. Odyssey eFileGA)
+
+ Georgia counties use **two different e-filing systems**, and **which
+ one a county uses is county-dependent**:
+
+ - **PeachCourt** (the eFileGA front end on a Tyler Odyssey backbone) —
+ used by many counties.
+ - **Odyssey eFileGA** (Tyler) — used by other counties.
+
+ **Always check the current platform for the filing county** at the AOC
+ e-filing directory — **https://georgiacourts.gov/efile-court-records**
+ — before assembling a packet. Civil e-filing is broadly mandatory in
+ the higher courts statewide (the SB407 mandate, effective around
+ 1/1/2019), but Magistrate e-filing is often **optional**; confirm
+ both the platform and whether e-filing is mandatory or permissive for
+ the specific court.
+
+ ### 5. Pull the local rules and standing orders
+
+ In addition to the uniform rules, each circuit (and often each
+ assigned judge) issues **local rules** and **standing / case-
+ management orders**. These commonly set chambers-copy thresholds,
+ proposed-order delivery, ADR-by-default, and scheduling defaults.
+ **Read the assigned judge's standing order** — per-judge civil
+ case-management orders are common in the metro circuits and elsewhere.
+
+ ### 6. Confirm the clerk's filing and fee practices
+
+ Filing fees, accepted payment, in-person vs. e-file acceptance for pro
+ se filers, and proposed-order delivery vary by clerk's office. Confirm
+ with the **Clerk of Superior Court / State Court / Magistrate Court**
+ for the county before filing.
+
+ ## Forum-selection summary (which Georgia court)
+
+ | If the claim is… | File in… |
+ |---|---|
+ | A civil money/tort claim, any amount, **and the county has a State Court** | **State Court** (`ga-state-court`) |
+ | A civil money/tort claim where the county has **no** State Court | **Superior Court** (per the county's circuit) |
+ | Equity, divorce, title to land, or a felony | **Superior Court** (exclusive) |
+ | A small civil claim within the § 15-10-2(5) cap, dispossessory, or garnishment | **Magistrate Court** (`ga-magistrate`) |
+
+ Confirm the subject-matter routing — the State/Superior split is by
+ **subject, not dollar amount** (see `ga-state-court`).
+
+ ## Caption — generic county variant
+
+ ```
+ [SUPERIOR | STATE | MAGISTRATE] COURT OF [COUNTY] COUNTY
+ STATE OF GEORGIA
+
+ [PLAINTIFF], )
+ )
+ Plaintiff, ) Civil Action File No. _________
+ )
+ v. )
+ )
+ [DEFENDANT], )
+ )
+ Defendant. )
+
+ [DOCUMENT TITLE IN ALL CAPS]
+ ```
+
+ Pick the court line for the chosen forum and the county name for the
+ filing county; use **"Civil Action File No. ____"**. See
+ `ga-statewide-format` for the full pleading paper, the numbered-
+ paragraph body (O.C.G.A. § 9-11-10), the certificate of service, and
+ the pro se signature block.
+
+ **Agent behavior:** before drafting or filing in any non-flagship
+ county, run the per-county workflow above — (1) the **current circuit
+ (§ 15-6-1)**, (2) whether the county has a **State Court**, (3) the
+ **Magistrate Court** practices, (4) the **e-filing platform**
+ (PeachCourt vs. Odyssey eFileGA, via georgiacourts.gov/efile-court-records),
+ (5) the **local rules and the assigned judge's standing order**, and
+ (6) the **clerk's fee/filing practices**. Do not assume a flagship
+ county's practice carries to another county.
+
+ ## Composition
+
+ - For statewide format and the Georgia caption: `ga-statewide-format`
+ - For the dedicated flagship venues: `ga-fulton`, `ga-cobb`,
+ `ga-gwinnett`
+ - For the civil-any-amount forum and the Superior/State split:
+ `ga-state-court`
+ - For the small-claims / dispossessory / garnishment forum:
+ `ga-magistrate`
+ - For the answer, defenses, and default avoidance: `ga-first-30-days`
+ - For discovery practice: `ga-discovery`
+ - For consumer-debt defenses: `ga-consumer-debt`
+ - For deadline computation and Georgia legal holidays: `ga-deadlines`
+ - For assembling and e-filing a packet: `ga-file-packet`
+ - For citation verification: `ga-fact-check`
+
+ ## References
+
+ - `references/circuit-directory.md` — O.C.G.A. § 15-6-1 judicial
+ circuits, the ~50-51 (in-flux) circuit count, and the county-to-
+ circuit lookup workflow
+ - `references/efiling-platforms.md` — PeachCourt vs. Odyssey eFileGA,
+ the georgiacourts.gov/efile-court-records directory, and the SB407
+ mandatory-e-filing posture
+ - `references/county-forum-checklist.md` — the per-county research
+ workflow (circuit, State Court status, Magistrate Court, local
+ rules, clerk practices)