Houston County
Houston County is situated in central Georgia and was established in 1821. It is named after John Houston, the 10th Governor of Georgia. The county covers an area of 376 square miles and has a population of approximately 163,000 residents. The major cities in Houston County are Byron, Centerville, Warner Robins, and Perry, which serves as the county seat.
Houston County's Superior Court has jurisdiction over all cases except those exclusive to other courts. It also exclusively handles adult felony trials, property ownership, divorces, and equity cases. The State Court handles criminal and civil jury trials and shares appellate jurisdiction over the lower court's actions with the Superior Court. The Houston County Probate Court handles probate matters concerning estates, guardianships, conservatorships, and marriage licenses, while the Juvenile Court hears cases involving minors under 18. Additionally, minor criminal offenses and civil suits under $15,000 are heard at the Magistrate Court. Municipal Courts in Houston County operate locally to adjudicate several cases, including municipal ordinance violations, misdemeanors, minor civil cases, and traffic infractions.
Houston County public court records are important documents and files that contain information on legal proceedings handled by the county courts. These records usually consist of transcripts, motions, court decisions, orders, and exhibits from court filings and hearings. They may be physically stored at the courthouse where the case was filed or heard. In some cases, these records are also available to the public through online databases maintained by designated custodians such as the Superior Court Clerk and State Court Clerk.
Houston County courthouses are repositories for the following public court records:
- Criminal court records - Public records related to criminal cases, including offenders' details, charges, verdicts, and sentencing
- Family court records - Documents on family law cases such as divorce, child custody, and child support
- Probate court records - Public probate court documents concerning estates and guardianship/conservatorship matters
- Civil court records - Public documents related to non-criminal suits and actions, such as tort claims, contract breaches, and landlord/tenant issues
- Traffic court records - Public records related to traffic violations and infractions
- Juvenile court records - Open records on cases involving minors, such as delinquency or child proceedings
To access public court records in Houston County, interested individuals can access the court's online portal to search for cases using the available search criteria. Users can search for these records by party names, case numbers, citation numbers, or dates. Additionally, custodians of these records may provide them upon request through in-person visits, mail, email, or phone.
