Chattooga County Superior Court
Georgia uses Superior Court as the broad trial court of general jurisdiction. The statewide court guide describes two appellate courts and seven trial-level classes: Superior, State-wide Business, State, Juvenile, Probate, Magistrate, and Municipal Courts. In Chattooga County, Superior Court sits in the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit with Catoosa, Dade, and Walker counties. The Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit website provides circuit calendars, judge pages, court administrator updates, PeachCourt login links, District Attorney links, Public Defender links, and specialty-court links.
The local public-records clerk for Superior Court is Kim Windle James, Clerk of Superior Court. The clerk's office is at 10035 Commerce Street, Summerville, Georgia 30747, phone 706-857-0706, and also manages State and Juvenile court clerk records according to GSCCCA. That makes the clerk the correct access point for Superior Court case files, certified copies, civil pleadings, felony criminal filings, divorce records, and records that require case-specific clerk handling.
Chattooga Superior Court Table
Chattooga County does not have numbered district courts in the research. The resolved primary trial court is Superior Court, so the table lists the local trial courts and related offices that determine where a record is kept. Use it to avoid sending a probate, magistrate, municipal, jail, or federal question to the wrong counter.
| Court or office | Type | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Superior Court / Clerk of Superior Court | Felony, divorce, broad civil, state and juvenile clerk records | 10035 Commerce Street, Summerville, GA 30747 | 706-857-0706 |
| State Court | Misdemeanor, traffic-type, and civil matters where created locally | 10035 Commerce Street, Summerville, GA 30747 | 706-857-0706 |
| Juvenile Court | Juvenile matters with restricted public access | LMJC juvenile court link and clerk routing | 706-857-0706 |
| Probate Court | Estates, wills, guardianship, conservatorship, marriage, weapons carry | 10035 Commerce Street, Summerville, GA 30747 | 706-857-0709 |
| Magistrate Court | Warrants, preliminary hearings, civil claims up to $15,000, dispossessory | 120 Cox Street, Suite C, Summerville, GA 30747 | 706-857-0711 |
| Sheriff's Office / Jail | Arrest, booking, bond, warrant execution, law-enforcement records | 35 W Washington Street, Summerville, GA 30747 | 706-857-3411; jail 706-857-0721 |
| District Attorney | Felony prosecution in Chattooga through LMJC DA | 114 E. Patton Street, LaFayette, GA 30728 | 706-638-2121 |
| Public Defender | Indigent defense in qualifying Superior and Juvenile matters | 10035 Commerce Street, Summerville, GA 30747 | 706-857-9243 |
Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit
The LMJC Chattooga County page is a local court operations source. It links to Judge Hise calendar materials, Chattooga civil pre-trial calendar information, criminal status conference calendar information, Superior Court materials, PeachCourt login, District Attorney, Public Defender, Drug Court, Wellness Court, and forms. It also notes that attorneys or parties seeking specially set civil hearings with Judge Hise should contact Ansley Smith to check availability.
The circuit source is shown on the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit Chattooga page.
PACER is not a county Superior Court portal, but it is useful when a case belongs in federal court rather than the Chattooga County trial court system.
The federal court source appears at the Northern District of Georgia court information page.
This image supports the distinction between Chattooga County Superior Court records and federal records in the Northern District of Georgia.
Superior vs Other Courts
Many Chattooga County record searches fail because the case is in the wrong court. Superior Court has broad trial jurisdiction, but State, Magistrate, Probate, Juvenile, and Municipal Courts have their own roles. The comparison below follows the court hierarchy and local office split documented in the research.
| Feature | Superior Court | State or Magistrate Court | Probate or Municipal Court |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main role | Felony, divorce, broad civil, equity, title to land, appeals and transfers | State Court handles misdemeanors, traffic-type matters, and civil matters where created; Magistrate handles warrants, preliminary hearings, dispossessory, and small claims up to $15,000 | Probate handles estates, wills, guardianship, marriage, weapons carry; municipal courts handle city traffic and ordinance cases |
| Record clerk | Clerk of Superior Court | Clerk of Superior Court for State Court records; Magistrate Court for magistrate files | Probate Court counter or the city municipal court |
| Common search channel | Clerk counter, PeachCourt where available, LMJC calendars | Clerk, Magistrate Court, or specific court calendar | Probate Court page, Georgia Probate Records for marriage applications, or city court contact |
| Public limits | Sealed, restricted, juvenile, personal identifiers, and protected data withheld | Warrant, juvenile, pending investigation, and transfer limits can apply | Guardianship, mental-health, vital-record, and municipal bench-warrant limits can apply |
Chattooga Case Flow
A Superior Court criminal case may begin with an arrest or warrant, but the full court record begins when prosecutors file the charging instrument with the court. A civil case begins when a complaint or petition is filed with the clerk. Divorce follows the civil family-file path in Superior Court. Appeals or transfers can move matters between court levels under Georgia rules.
Criminal flow: Arrest or warrant › Magistrate first appearance or preliminary hearing › accusation or indictment › arraignment › pretrial motions › plea or trial › disposition and sentence › appeal if filed.
Civil and divorce flow: Complaint or petition › service › answer › motions and discovery › hearing or trial › order, judgment, or decree › post-judgment or appeal if filed.
Note: Magistrate Court cannot conduct jury trials, so a jury demand can move a magistrate case to Superior or State Court.
Chattooga Superior Court Calendars
LMJC maintains circuit calendar materials, and the research notes updates to the 2026 calendar and local scheduling contacts. Judge Hise's page lists office hours of 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., a lunch closure from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m., administrative assistant Ansley Smith, office phone 706-857-0715, and court reporter Leigh Ann McBryar. Calendars can change, so a printed or saved calendar should be refreshed or confirmed before travel.
The federal court location source appears at the Northern District court locations page.
Federal location information is separate from local Superior Court calendars, but it helps route records that are not in Chattooga County court.
Chattooga Superior Court Access
For a local Superior Court record request, start with the clerk rather than a federal portal. Write down the party names, case type, approximate filing date, and case number if known. For criminal records, separate the jail booking or arrest charge from the filed Superior Court case. For divorce, use the Superior Court clerk because Georgia divorce files are filed with the Clerk of Superior Court in the county tied to residency. For calendars, use LMJC materials, then call the clerk or judge's staff if a hearing date must be confirmed.
Public access still has limits. Juvenile records, sealed files, restricted criminal-history material, adoption records, protected personal identifiers, and some victim or medical details may be unavailable to the general public. A party, attorney, or authorized person may have a different access path than a public researcher.
Federal Court Is Separate
Chattooga County is in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. The federal Court Info page states that the Rome Division includes Chattooga County. Federal criminal cases, civil-rights cases, federal civil cases, bankruptcy cases, and federal prisoner matters are not found by calling the Chattooga County Clerk unless a related state-court file exists.
The Northern District home page is shown at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
This federal source belongs in the routing discussion because federal records use PACER or CM/ECF, not the county clerk's Superior Court file system.
The federal CM/ECF source is shown at the Northern District of Georgia CM/ECF query page.
Use CM/ECF and PACER for federal district court records, while Chattooga County Superior Court records remain with the local clerk and circuit resources.
Bankruptcy Records Are Separate
Bankruptcy records are not Chattooga County Probate Court records and are not Superior Court records. They are federal records through the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Georgia. A bankruptcy may mention property, debts, divorce obligations, or criminal restitution, but the file itself belongs to the federal bankruptcy system.
The bankruptcy source appears at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
The bankruptcy source helps separate estate administration in Probate Court from federal debt cases in bankruptcy court.