Municipal Court

The Byron Municipal Court provides an  impartial forum to hear and settle traffic tickets, misdemeanor criminal violations and city code violations. Municipal courts are the busiest courts in Georgia with more than 400 judges managing more than 800,000 cases per year. 

State law authorizes municipal courtsto hear violations of state and local traffic laws that occur within the city limits. State traffic offenses are misdemeanors and as such in some cases may carry penalties of up to one year in prison and $1,000 fine.

The state has authority to grant jurisdiction over certain misdemeanor offenses to municipal courts. The penalties that may be imposed for these offenses in municipal court are typically identified in the statute granting jurisdiction. Examples of these offenses include possession of less than one ounce of marijuana and shoplifting property valued at $500 or less.

Cities may proscribe certain conduct that is not already prohibited by state law and provide for appropriate punishment. State law establishes that the maximum punishment for ordinance offenses is six months incarceration and fines of $1,000 per offense. Some municipal charters limit the city to lesser maximum punishments for ordinance offenses.

This web site was developed to provide relevant information regarding the operation of the Court. We invite you to look through the information provided. If you have a question that is not answered on these pages, please do not hesitate to call the Court Clerk's office.