Paulding County
Paulding County is known for its role in the American Civil War, especially the battles of Pickett's Mill, Dallas, and New Hope Church. It was named after John Paulding who captured a British spy named Major John Andre during the American Revolution. The county is in the northwestern part of Georgia and was created out of Cherokee County from an act of the Georgia General Assembly on December 3, 1832. It was later expanded by the annexation of Carroll, Douglas, Polk, and Cobb Counties and Dallas serves as its county seat.
The Superior, Probate, Juvenile, Municipal, and Magistrate Courts constitute the court structure of Paulding County, providing quick justice to protect individual rights and interpret the law appropriately. The Magistrate Court issues arrest warrants in criminal cases, sets bonds, conducts preliminary hearings, and settles ordinance violations, small claims, and landlord-tenant cases. The Superior Court is the highest court of all and most civil and criminal cases go through this court before they are adjudicated. The Superior Court handles real estate boundary disputes, equitable relief, contract disputes between individuals and organizations, title to real estate, exclusive jurisdiction over all divorce cases, and felonies that involve jury trials.
The Municipal Courts are of limited jurisdiction and they handle zoning violations, building violations, truancies, and traffic cases. Matters involving the settlement of estates, name changes, adoptions, and guardianships are treated in the Probate Court. Crimes/truant behaviors by young offenders are handled in the Juvenile Court as well as cases of negligence by parents of minors. Minors are usually rehabilitated through probation departments and placed in detention. Children who go through abuse are also placed in foster care homes with the help of the Juvenile Court.
The Clerk of the Superior Court is an elected official who sees to the retention of court records and ensures it is properly administered to the public according to court orders. Court records are created by petitioning or filing with the Superior Court Clerk either in person or online.
Members of the public may view case dockets on the online web case management page where civil, probate, domestic relations, criminal, and traffic cases can be accessed. You need to provide the case number, party name, and attorney name to retrieve records. In addition, the case search feature on the Paulding County website can be used to search for court records.
