Magistrate Court
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Upson County Magistrate Court
305 S. Hightower Street, Suite
D120
PO Drawer 890
Thomaston, GA 30286
Phone (706)647-6891
Contact: Danny Bentley
email: dbentley@upsoncountyga.org
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Danny Bentley-Chief Magistrate Judge
William Hughley-Asst. Magistrate Judge
Jan Streetman-Senior Clerk
Gloria Taylor-Clerk |
The Magistrate Court
was created by legislation in 1982.
Prior to then there were Small Claims Courts with Justices of
the Peace presiding.
Each county within the State of Georgia has a Magistrate Court.
Each court has a Chief Magistrate that is elected by the
citizens of the county.
Many Magistrate Courts have at least one, if not more, judges or
Magistrates who are associates and serve in the same judicial
capacity and handle related casework.
The Civil Jurisdiction
The Magistrate Court's
Civil jurisdiction is now $15,000.00.
This became effective July 1, 1999 by legislation through the General Assembly.
On Landlord/Tenant and rental disputes there is no monetary
limit, this court has an exclusive right over these cases.
The Criminal Aspect
The Magistrate Court Judges must approve all criminal warrants
issued within Upson
County.
Law enforcement personnel generally secure the criminal
warrant in the majority of criminal cases within the City of Thomaston and Upson
County.
Citizens are lawfully permitted to secure their own arrest
warrants, however, the court prefers some form of law enforcement
involvement
