Clerk of Superior Court Rhonda Payne
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The Clerk of Superior Court is a Constitutional Officer, meaning the position was created by act of the Legislature in the state constitution, and has been a county constitutional officer since the framers of the Georgia Constitution of 1798 provided for election of the Clerk of Superior Court in each of Georgias counties. The Clerk is the person responsible for protecting the integrity of public records and public funds. The Clerk receives, manages, and processes all court documents, collects and disburses all court fees, fines, and costs, and provides the public with access to court records. As keeper of public records, the Clerk records deeds, mortgages, and notaries public. Citizens case files, court records, property deeds, and mortgages are handled and protected by the Clerk; an impartial officer elected.
Courts ~ the Clerk's Original File is the Official File of the Court:
Criminal and Civil documents are filed and maintained in the Clerk's Office. Each case is assigned a case number and Judge. Each civil case can have numerous parties as plaintiff or defendant. The District Attorney's Office, the Public Defender's Office, private attorneys, plaintiffs and/or defendants file all original documents pertaining to a case in the Clerk's Office. Once a criminal case is sentenced or closed, the Clerk's Office processes the necessary paperwork to send to the applicable State agency. The Clerk's Office collects the fines, either from the individual or through the probation office, whichever is applicable, and processes and disburses the fine monies to local and State agencies. Stats:
Court Documents filed *200595,989 *2006110,521 *2007119,273 *2008132,051 *2009150,136
Civil Cases filed *20053,896 *20064,386 *20074,751 *20086,034 *2009 6,509
Criminal Cases filed *20051,621 *20061,871 *20071,797 *20081,995 * 20091,905
Sustain ~ Case Management System:
In August 1993, the Georgia Court Automation Commission provided the Douglas County Clerk of Superior Court with the Sustain software at no cost to Douglas County taxpayers. The Clerk's Office continues using Sustain to this day. All criminal and civil cases are entered into the Sustain system, allowing computerized updates for new information, Court dates, disposition of cases, etc., in an efficient and timely manner. Sustain is used to print Court calendars, notices, and reports.
Jury Pool (Grand and Traverse):
Jury Commissioners are responsible for preparing a balanced jury box. The jury box must comprise a cross-section of the community, adequately representing each identifiable group in the County population. Eligible names for the jury box can be taken from the voter's list, driver's license list, personal knowledge, etc. The law provides for the following excusals/deferrals from jury service when a called juror completes and returns an affidavit that is provided on the back of the jury summons:
- OCGA 15-12-1(2) full-time student at a college, university, vocational school or other postsecondary school;
- OCGA 15-12-1(a)(1) primary caregiver which has active care and custody of a child under six years of age, and there is no reasonable available alternative child care;
- over 70 years of age;
- permanent medical excuse statement provided by a doctor;
- primary teacher in a home school program (Home Study Code Section (c) 20-3-690;
- service member on ordered military duty
- convicted of felony unless your rights have been restored.
Real Estate and Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) Filings:
In 2001, the Clerk's Office filed more than 38,000 real estate documents (warranty, quit claim, security, cancellation, liens, plats, etc.) and UCC Financing Statment documents for Douglas County properties. The Clerk's Office can record approximately 1100 pages per deed book, and in the first six months of 2002, over 113 deed books have been recorded. The real estate division of the Clerk's Office is responsible for receiving, processing, recording, indexing and processing all fees relating to real estate, including the collection of real estate transfer taxes and intangible taxes. UCC documents are scanned to the Georgia Superior Court Clerk's Cooperative Authority where they are indexed and listed on their web site (see green bar to the right for link).
Real Estate Transactions *200821,857 *2009 36,057
Other Records and Services:
- Federal, State, and County tax liens are sent to the Clerk's Office for filing by the issuing agency.
- FiFa's are recorded in the General Execution Docket.
- DD214, Military Discharge Records, are recorded at no charge to the veteran and they are no longer public record.
- The Clerk's Office has an in-house scanning department.
- Real estate, UCC and civil protective orders are scanned and transmitted to the Georgia Superior Court Clerk's Cooperative Authority.
- The Clerk's Office processes appeals to the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court.
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