Chief Magistrate Joyette Holmes administered the oath of office to Cobb’s magistrate judges on Dec 21, 2016. Magistrate judges handle an assortment of duties that don’t require trials. The courts were created under Georgia’s 1983 constitution, and combined the functions previously handled by justices-of-the-peace and small claims courts.
>> To learn more about this court visit our Cobb County Magistrate Court page
The magistrate court is open 24 hours a day, and issues arrest warrants, summonses, and search warrants. It also handles claims of $15,000 or less, misdemeanor deposit account fraud (bad checks), county ordinance violations, preliminary hearings, and weddings.
Cobb County’s chief magistrate is elected every four years in a partisan contest, and assigns cases and appoints magistrates (with the approval of the county superior court).
For more information on the many tasks carried out by this court, visit the Cobb County Magistrate Court web page.
Here’s the video of the swearing-in ceremony from youtube:
