Covid -19 restrictions are in place for the protection of the public and staff
Judge Chris A. Davenport Chief Magistrate
Judge Chris A. Davenport Chief Magistrate
The Magistrate Court plays an important role for the people in the community. The court provides assistance to individuals in civil and criminal actions. An attorney is not required in this court, which makes the Magistrate Court affordable for everyone in Jeff Davis County.
Magistrate Court's jurisdiction includes civil claims of $15,000.00 or less, dispossessory proceedings (landlord/tenant), applications for and the issuance of arrest and/or search warrants and preliminary hearings. The Magistrate Court does not hold jury trials and is not a court of record. Any appeals from judgments in civil cases are made to the Superior and State Courts.
This web site has been designed to provide citizens with the most current and convenient information available regarding the process and procedures in the Magistrate court. We hope you will find this website to be a useful and convenient tool in obtaining information.
The Magistrate Court of Jeff Davis County has acquired a Landlord-Tenant FAQ sheet in order to continue to help community members understand their rights as both landlords and tenants during the COVID-19 pandemic. This FAQ sheet covers questions from what has Magistrate Court done to address the Landlord-Tenant cases during the pandemic to giving resources for both landlords and tenants on who they can contact for help. The CDC has released a moratorium regarding dispossessory cases beginning September 4, 2020 until March 31, 2021. Please see the links below for more information.
Please click here to access the FAQ sheet.
Please click here to review the protections for Tenants under the CDC moratorium, see here the required declaration.
Please click here to review the requirements for Landlords under the CDC moratorium, see here the required affidavit.
The Magistrate Court has jurisdiction to hear landlord-tenant disputes which includes dispossessory proceedings. A dispossessory action refers to eviction proceedings brought by a landlord against a tenant. A writ of possession is issued to evict an occupant from the property. The dispossessory complaint is filed under oath by the owner (landlord), testifying to the unlawful possession of the owners property by a tenant. The relationship between the parties must be Landlord and Tenant. The Tenant must be either a Tenant holding over, Tenant at will, a Tenant at sufferance, one not paying rent as it becomes due, or otherwise breaching the conditions of the rental agreement. The Landlord must have made a demand for possession of the premises prior to commencement of the proceedings. Those who consider themselves "agents" of the landlord must comply with Rule 31.
Once a tenant has been served with the Landlord-Tenant (Dispossessory) Affidavit, the tenant has seven (7) days from the date of service to file an answer with our court. If the tenant does not file an answer an eviction may be requested on the eighth (8th) day. If the tenant files an answer, a court date will be set and the plaintiff will be notified by mail of the court date. Once a writ of possession is issued, an eviction must be requested within thirty (30) days of the date of service or a new Landlord-Tenant (Dispossessory) Affidavit must be filed.
You may use the Magistrate Court Guide and File system to draft your Landlord-Tenant (Dispossessory) Affidavit or Answer. Access the Magistrate Court Guide and file System online or use the forms provided.
Forms are in pdf format. You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader or other pdf reader program in order to use these forms.
Landlord-Tenant (Dispossessory) Affidavit
Landlord-Tenant (Dispossessory) Answer
Plaintiff(s) must confirm the address for service is in Jeff Davis County. The Court will not issue a refund of a service fee if the Process Server determines the address for service is not in Jeff Davis County. Below are websites that may be used to confirm an address is inJeff Davis County. The Magistrate Court assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of the information provided by these websites.
USPS https://tools.usps.com/go/ZipLookupAction!input.action
Jeff Davis County Tax Assessor https://qpublic.jeffdavis
The Judges and staff of the Magistrate Court cannot provide legal advice. For answers to any questions you may have, please contact Georgia Legal Aid. You may also want to review the Georgia Landlord-Tenant Handbook, provided by the State of Georgia Department of Community Affairs. While this publication may be helpful to both landlords and tenants, it should not be a substitute for professional legal advice. This Handbook contains information on Georgia landlord-tenant law as of June 2012 and, as such, may not reflect the status of Georgia law.
Free or reduced cost legal assistance for low-income persons is available through the Georgia Legal Services Program.
This program is provided free by the Council of Magistrate Court Judges for the public to use and print forms. The program guides the user by questions and providing background information and definitions. At the end, the user may print off a form to take the Magistrate Court and file. If a county has E filing available, that option will be available at the end of the program. Users may incur a fee for using E filing rather than filing in person.
The Abandoned Motor Vehicle (AMV) law changed on 9/1/2019
A business such as a repair facility, a salvage dealer, or a towing and storage firm may file a claim for an AMV in order to recover the costs of removing motor vehicles from public rights of way and private or public property.
The Magistrate Court now has guides, called “interviews” available online to assist you in completing Abandoned Motor Vehicle forms for the Georgia Magistrate Courts at: https://georgia.tylerhost.net/SRL/SRL/ExecuteInterview. The interviews go through a series of questions and answers to help populate the required forms.
These interviews are NOT a substitute for legal advice. If you need help preparing a case or understanding your legal rights, please contact a lawyer. These interviews will simply walk you through the process of entering your information on a court-approved document.
The interviews have forms for Plaintiffs and Defendants, including:
Petition for AMV Lien Foreclosure
Answer to Petition for AMV Lien
All required AMV forms are still available on the website for the Council of Magistrate Court Judges and can be found here: https://georgiamagistratecouncil.com/forms/
Generally, before filing any documents with the court, a business must request contact information for the vehicle owner(s) from the Department of Revenue (DOR) or from a DOR approved website. Please refer to the DOR website (https://dor.georgia.gov/) for additional information.
After sending the first “AMV Notice” to the Owner(s), the business must file a “Petition for Abandoned Motor Vehicle Lien Foreclosure” with the court. If an owner files an Answer, then there will be a court hearing.
The information available on this website is not intended as legal advice and should not be considered as such. They are provided only for reference purposes.
You should always research and review those statutes and procedural rules that pertain to your case to ensure that the complaint, answer, motion, or other document you are filing is accurate and in compliance with current Georgia law.
Send us a message with any questions or concerns, and we'll get back to you with answers as soon as we can.
14 Jeff Davis Street Suite # 204 Hazlehurst, Georgia 31539, United States
912-375-6630 [phone] 912-375-6629 [Fax] magistrate.clerk@jeffdaviscountyga.gov
Open today | 08:00 am – 05:00 pm |
