Tift County
Tift County was established in 1905 and named after Henry Harding Tift, the founder of Tifton. The county has a land area of 260.9 square miles and a population of over 41,000 residents. Its county seat and largest city is Tifton.
The Tift County trial court system consists of a Superior Court, a State Court, a Magistrate Court, a Juvenile Court, a Probate Court, and Municipal Courts. The Superior Court is the county's highest trial court with general jurisdiction over civil and criminal cases. It has exclusive jurisdiction over divorce cases, real estate disputes, felonies, and the correction of errors made by lower courts. Meanwhile, the jurisdiction of the Tift County State Court is limited to civil claims, misdemeanors, felony preliminary hearings, traffic violations, and issuance of warrants. The court also handles appeals of decisions of the Magistrate Court.
The Tift County Magistrate Court has jurisdiction over simple offenses, criminal preliminary hearings, and the issuance of warrants. Similarly, the court's civil jurisdiction covers claims not exceeding $15,000 in value, landlord-tenant cases, ordinance violations, dispossessory actions, and bad checks.
Tift County Juvenile Court specializes in cases relating to the welfare of a child and juvenile offenses. The court also shares jurisdiction with the Superior Court in child custody, temporary guardianship, and legitimation cases. Similarly, the Tift County Probate Court has exclusive jurisdiction over cases involving wills, guardianships, conservatorships, and the administration of a deceased person's estate.
Additionally, certain cities in Tift County, such as Tifton and Omega, have municipal courts that preside over municipal ordinance violations, preliminary criminal hearings, and minor offenses.
Tift County courts generate several documents and information in the process of adjudicating legal disputes. These include court dockets, judgments, orders, calendars, petitions, warrants, and case indexes, collectively forming the Tift County public court records. The county's Clerk of Court is responsible for filing and preserving records of the Superior and State Courts. Other courts in the county also have clerks who perform similar functions.
Interested persons may access various types of court records in Tift County, including the following:
- Civil records
- Criminal records
- Probate records
- Traffic records
- Small claims records
Records of the Superior and State Court may be accessed online through the GSCCCA portal or the Peachcourt website. For records from other courts, individuals may submit a formal request to the clerk of the respective court and pay any applicable fees.
