Municipal Court

Decatur Municipal Court, 420 W. Trinity Place

The newly renovated municipal court facility is designed to promote safety and security as well as to be functional and effective as a courtroom.

Overview

Decatur Municipal Court has jurisdiction over traffic offenses, local ordinances, and most misdemeanor non-traffic offenses. Most citations can be paid before the court date without a court appearance, but some charges require a mandatory appearance in court.

The municipal court holds first appearance and preliminary hearings for felony and misdemeanor charges to determine if probable cause exists to bind the case over to superior or state court of DeKalb County. The municipal court holds trials for traffic charges, some misdemeanors, city ordinance and parking violations that occur within the city limits of Decatur. The judges can assign fines and incarceration if the person is found guilty. 

The City Commission appoints municipal court judges biennially and the city attorney annually. Rhathelia Stroud serves as the chief judge, and the associate judges are, Berryl A. Anderson, F. Robert Slotkin Jr., and Denise VanLanduyt. Substitute judges are Cinque Axam, Tyler Edgerton, Hollie Manheimer, and Tom Stubbs. Irene Vander Els is the city attorney; Larry Steele serves as the city solicitor.

The Court Administrator, Courtney Jackson, oversees the day-to-day operations of the municipal court. In addition there are three full-time Court Clerks and one part-time Court Clerk Assistants who prepare the court calendar, support court hearings, process paperwork after hearings, and accept payments of fines. Shakeita Brown, and Jose Vargas serve as Court Clerks;  Pamela Oliver serve as part-time Court Clerk Assistant. 

Other services provided by the court include: 

• Certified court dispositions
• Record restrictions (formerly known as Expungements)
• Request continuances
• Pay fines 

Interpreter Services

If you are in need of language interpreter services, you must contact and inform the court as soon as possible. It is your responsibility to inform the court prior to your scheduled court date and time. Complete the online form or contact the court clerk’s office at 678-553-6655 or email municipal.court [at] decaturga.com (municipal[dot]court[at]decaturga[dot]com). 

Court Schedule 

A citation issued by the Decatur Police Department includes a court appearance date and time. You will be asked to enter a plea at that time. If the violation is not a mandatory appearance violation, you may pay the fine prior to the court date and time to avoid a court appearance. If your fine is not paid by your scheduled court session and you do not appear for your hearing, you will be penalized for failure to appear in court. 

All Decatur Municipal Court hearings are open to the public and take place at: 

420 W. Trinity Place
Decatur, GA 30030 
map

When appearing in court, you should dress appropriately and in a manner that shows respect for the court.

Court hearings are held for traffic tickets, ordinance violations and some misdemeanors. 

Hours:

Monday and Wednesday: 9 a.m.
Tuesday and Thursday: 6 p.m.
(except holidays) 

Court date Continuances:

Court dates may be continued by court personnel only ONCE. Continuance requests may be received in-person, via email (municipal.court [at] decaturga.com (municipal[dot]court[at]decaturga[dot]com)), or by fax 678-553-6660. All requests must be accompanied with supporting documentation of your reason to have your appearance date rescheduled. Please note that any additional continuances must be granted by the presiding judge on the scheduled court date. 

Failure to Appear:

If you miss your court appearance date and have not paid your fine before the scheduled court date, your case is considered to be in Failure to Appear. The presiding judge may impose a FTA fee on your case, this is solely at their discretion. Failing to appear to court may result in a bench warrant being issued or a suspension of driving privileges. To resolve a failure to appear or to request a rescheduling of the missed court date, contact the clerks office at 678-553-6655. 

Parking ticket hearings:

Parking tickets may be appealed through the online portal. To appeal parking tickets, please log onto decaturga.rmcpay.com and select the APPEAL option located in your citation information.  Please note parking citations are only appealable within 15 days of issuance. 

Parking tickets issued by a Decatur Police Officer may be appealed on the assigned court date written on the ticket. 

First Appearance hearings and Probation Revocation hearings: 

Mondays 8 a.m. 
Tuesdays 5 p.m.
Wednesdays 8 a.m. 
Thursdays 5 p.m.
(except holidays) 

Fine Payments

If your ticket is for an offense that may be paid without going to court, your fine will be listed here. If you choose to pay your fine in advance, your options are:

1. In person or by mail at Decatur Municipal Court, 420 W. Trinity Place, Decatur, GA 30030
2. Online. For customer service, you may call 470-961-6107.

Fine payments are accepted at the municipal court between the hours of 8:00 a.m. through 4:30 p.m. Online and phone payments must be made no later than 24 hours before your scheduled court date. If you have missed your scheduled court date, you cannot pay be phone or online. 

If your citation requires a court appearance, you cannot pay your fine(s) until you have appeared in court, and a plea has been accepted on your case by the presiding judge.

The court accepts these types of payment for fines or bonds:

• Cash (in-person only)
• Money order
• Certified check
• Credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover and debit cards with Visa or Mastercard logo, 4% service fee will be applied.) 

The fee for a returned check is $30.

Please note: The fee and fine schedule for the City of Decatur Municipal Court has been modified pursuant to Senate Bill 249 (SB 249), which passed during the 2020 state legislative session.

Probation

If you are unable to pay your fines and would need the benefits of paying your fine over a period of time, you will need to appear in court and the option of probation will be presented to you by the presiding judge.

The municipal court contracts with a private probation service that can arrange payment plans for those who are unable to pay their fines at court. The probation service supervises court-ordered community service work and any other special conditions set by a judge at trial. 

Professional Probation Services / PPS 
404-373-6337
Professional Probation Website

Georgia Municipal Courts

For more general information about courts in Georgia and about municipal courts in particular visit the Council of Municipal Court Judges website (georgiacourts.org/councils/municipal). Please note that in the video, Appearing in Municipal Court, the judges talk about holding an arraignment hearing separately from trial. Decatur Municipal Court has arraignments and trials at the same hearing and does not require two separate court appearances. You may come to court just one time whether or not you choose to have a trial. All the constitutional rights mentioned in the video apply to each and every person accused in Decatur Municipal Court and all courts of the state.