Related Questions
No. Certain charges require a court appearance and carry a fine that is judge-imposed.
Yes. You may accomplish this by speaking to the Solicitor/Prosecutor. This may only be done on your assigned court date by asking for a pre-trial after the Judge calls your name during calendar call. The Solicitor will be in the court room approximately 15 - 30 minutes before court begins to work with the attorneys. The Solicitor will be available to all who would like to speak to them in regards to their case.
If the violation is not a “must appear” offense, you may pay the fine to avoid an appearance in court. By paying the fine, the court will notate the case as a 'Bond Forfeiture' - (meaning as the defendant, you have remitted payment of fine in lieu of appearing in court to contest the charge of the citation). Bond Forfeitures are viewed as a guilty plea and if the charge is a reportable offense, the record will be transmitted to the Georgia Department of Driver Services and treated as such on your drivers record. Citations are typically processed and available for payment online within 2 - 3 business days of your violation. Online payments must be made at least 24 hours prior to your court date. You may also pay in person between the hours of 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. up until your court date. If you fail to pay your fine by one of these methods and do not appear in court on your court date, you may be placed in Failure to Appear status and your driver license may be subject for suspension or Failure to Appear bench warrant issued for your arrest.
Yes. Certain offenses are eligible for a jury trial. The judge will sign an order for your case to be transferred and heard in the State Court of DeKalb County upon request prior to hearing any details of your case.
You may hire a private attorney to represent your case and have them file an Entry of Appearance with the court. However, if you cannot afford an attorney, and would like for the court to appoint you a Public Defender/ court appointed attorney; will be required to complete an application for a Public Defender. The Judge will review your application and interview you under oath to determine eligibility under Federal guidelines to have a court appointed attorney/ Public Defender appointed to represent you in your case. A fifty dollar ($50.00) application fee may be assessed to your case upon adjudication at the discretion of the Court.
Please call the Clerk’s office at 678-553-6550 within 24 hours prior to the court date and confirm the case has not been rescheduled or closed due to payment of citation.
The information listed below is NOT legal advice as you have many rights available to you.
Plea of Guilty: An admission of Guilt. Depending on the offense, this plea may apply points to your drivers’ history or have other adverse effects.
Plea of Not Guilty: By pleading not guilty, you may request a bench trial or if applicable, you may request your case be bound over to DeKalb County for a jury trial.
Plea of Nolo Contendere (Often known as Nolo or No Contest): This plea is only available once every five (5) years and is discretionary. This plea requires your appearance in court.
The following "must appear" offenses require an appearance in court:
- Aggressive Driving
- All Alcohol Offenses
- All Codes Enforcement/Environmental Compliance Violations
- All Defendants Under the Age of 21
- All Drug Offenses
- Any Charge that May Result in Jail Time/License Suspension
- Attempt to Elude an Officer
- Disorderly Conduct
- Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs
- Hit and Run
- Habitual Violator Offenses
- No Insurance
- Passing a Loading/Unloading School Bus
- Possession of Marijuana Less than 1 oz.
- Racing
- Reckless Driving
- Shoplifting
- Speeding 30 mph or Greater over the Speed Limit
- Suspended License
- Suspended Registration
- Vehicular Homicide/Serious Injury
If you fail to appear for court and fail to pay your fine before your court date, you will be subjected to serious penalties. Your driver license privileges may be subject for suspension and there may be a pending bench warrant for your arrest. Contact the Clerk's office immediately to see what options are available to you in lieu of having your license suspended or a bench warrant issued for your arrest.
If you have a disability, speak another language, or require special accommodations in the court, please contact the clerk's office (678-553-6655) least 2 weeks prior to your court date. All reasonable concerns will be addressed. You may also email the clerk's office your special accommodation requests to municipal.court [at] decaturga.com (municipal[dot]court[at]decaturga[dot]com) - someone from the court staff will provide a response within 48 - 72 hours of receiving the email.
Failure to Appear is a case status which is imposed on a case when a defendant fails to report to court on their assigned hearing date. If you fail to appear on your court appearance date, a letter informing you of your failure to appear and giving you 30 days to contact the court to resolve the outstanding matter. If you fail to contact the court within 30 days of your missed hearing date, a bench warrant can be issued for your arrest and the Department of Driver Services may be notified for your license to be suspended.
Contact the Clerk's Office at (678) 553-6655 and request your court date to be rescheduled. The Clerk's Office ask that you contact them no later than 3 days prior to your court date. We understand emergencies happen and ask that you contact the court immediately to be excused from court. Please note - The Clerk's Office can only process a maximum of two (2) reschedule request outside of court. After two (2) has been processed outside of court, all additional request must be approved by the judge.
The Georgia Department of Driver Services. You may reach them at (678) 413-8400 or online at http://www.dds.ga.gov.
If you are indigent and meet the federal guideline requirements, the court may appoint an attorney to represent you in your case with the municipal court. The court requires completion of an application and financial statement and will make a decision upon review of these documents. You may ask for an application when you appear to court on your court date. Please note - Requesting a court appointed attorney or completing the public defender application cannot be done online prior to appearing on your court date.