C O U R T S STATE COURT

In 2022, the Spalding County State Court created a gamechanging inmate transfer program that transports inmates straight over to the jail where, once a week, they conduct hearings in the Spalding County Detention Center Hearing Room This shift from the Spalding County Courthouse to the Detention Center has allowed the State Court team to more than double the amount of cases they see in less than one-half of the time State Court Judge Josh Thacker reports, "We literally went from seeing 16 inmates ALL day, from 9-5, to seeing 20 inmates from 2-4:30"

Why is this important? Because the majority of these inmates are able to secure release from jail after seeing the judge, reducing disruption to defendants' lives and cutting Spalding County taxpayer costs to house, feed, and provide medical care to inmates who are waiting for a court date.

"Special 'thank you' to Sheriff Dix and his team for everything they have done to help ensure this system is a success," said Thacker

"The inmate transfer program has been such a success that we're working on upgrading the detention center hearing room into a fully functional courtroom to make everything more functional, efficient, and save taxpayers even more money by making it accessible by other courts."

Spalding County State Court Judge Josh Thacker

Cathy Leach was honored in 2022 for 40 years of service to Spalding County. She is the Spalding County State Court’s Certified Court Reporter and is the secondlongest serving employee in the county.

Board of Commissioners honors Chief Magistrate Judge Rita Cavanaugh for 40 years of service to Spalding County. Judge Cavanaugh is the longest-serving judge in Georgia history.