George County Circuit Court Records

George County Circuit Court Overview

The George County Circuit Court is the broad law-side trial court for the county. It hears felonies, misdemeanors that reach the circuit level, bastardy actions, and civil actions that carry no county-published dollar cap. It also takes civil and criminal appeals from County Court. Three judges sit over the court: Keith Miller, Kathy Jackson, and Calvin Taylor. The Circuit Clerk, Chad Welford, keeps the case files, the judgment roll, and the criminal fine records.

The court works out of the George County Courthouse at 355 Cox Street in Lucedale. Felony prosecution in these cases runs through the District Attorney for the 19th Judicial District, an office that covers Jackson, George, and Greene counties from Pascagoula rather than from the county seat. That split matters when you look for a charging record, because the clerk holds the court file while the prosecutor controls the charging decision.

The county's official Circuit Court page lists the judges, the case categories, and a link to the 2026 court calendar. We reviewed those details on the George County Circuit Court page before mapping each record type to a clerk.

That page is the cleanest public summary of what the George County Circuit Court actually handles, and it points civil and criminal filers toward the Circuit Clerk's counter at the front of the courthouse.

Every Trial Court in George County

George County spreads its trial work across six courts, and each one owns a different slice of cases. The table below lists the judges or clerk, the address, the phone, and the kinds of records each court keeps. Use it to send a request to the office that actually created the file you need.

Circuit Court vs County Court vs Justice Court

The three law-side trial courts in George County differ by the size of the case, the kind of charge, and where an appeal goes next. Circuit Court takes the heaviest matters, Justice Court takes the smallest, and County Court sits in the middle for selected local jurisdiction. The comparison below lines up the dollar limits, case types, and appeal paths so a reader can see which court fits a given dispute.

Justice Court is often called the people's court because it handles the everyday tickets and small claims most residents meet first. Many people who think they need George County Circuit Court records actually need Justice Court, since that is where Highway Patrol, Sheriff, constable, MDOT, Fish and Wildlife, and Department of Marine Resources citations land.

How a Case Moves Through the George County System

Cases in George County climb a ladder. A matter usually opens in a lower court, moves up to the trial court that has full authority, and then can reach the state appellate courts. The Mississippi Supreme Court sits at the top, and the Mississippi Court of Appeals handles assigned appeals below it. The flow below shows the common path from the bottom rung to the highest court.

Case path: Justice or Municipal Court › County Court › Circuit Court › Mississippi Court of Appeals › Mississippi Supreme Court

1. A citation, ordinance violation, or small claim opens in Justice Court or Lucedale Municipal Court.
2. Selected county-level cases, including Youth Court matters, are heard in County Court under Judge Mark Maples.
3. Circuit Court tries felonies and larger civil actions, and it hears civil and criminal appeals from County Court.
4. A party who loses in Circuit Court can seek review from the Mississippi Court of Appeals.
5. The Mississippi Supreme Court has the final word on state-law questions.

Equity cases follow a parallel track. County Court equity appeals go to Chancery Court rather than Circuit Court, which keeps family, probate, and land disputes on the equity side of the courthouse.

Chancery Court and the Equity Side

Chancery Court is the equity, family, and probate venue in George County, and it answers a very different set of questions than Circuit Court. Judges Ashlee Cole, Mark Maples, and Neil Harris hear divorce, child custody, property division, adoption, and alimony. The court also handles estates, land disputes, mental commitments, and equity appeals from County Court. The word chancery simply means equity, the branch of law that fixes problems money damages cannot.

Chancery Clerk Cammie Brannan Byrd keeps these files at 355 Cox Street and serves as the county's official record keeper for land and chancery records. Her office records deeds, trust deeds, wills, estates, guardianships, conservatorships, divorces, adoptions, Youth Court records, and Board of Supervisors minutes. Divorce decrees are local Chancery Clerk records, while the state health department only keeps an index that points to the county book and page. For probate, estate, and divorce files, the Chancery side is the right starting point, and the county's Chancery Court page lists the full set of case types.

County Court and Youth Court

County Court sits between the broad trial courts and the lower courts for selected county-level jurisdiction. Judge Mark Maples presides over it, and the county does not publish a separate County Court address or direct phone line because it runs inside the courthouse complex. Records route through the Circuit Clerk channel as locally directed. Youth Court is a division of County Court, which keeps cases involving minors close to the county's main bench.

We checked the county's own description of this court before describing its place in the ladder. The George County County Court page identifies Judge Maples and confirms the Youth Court division.

That page is short, but it confirms the key point for record seekers: County Court is local, it feeds appeals up to Circuit and Chancery courts, and its Youth Court division handles minors.

Youth Court is led by Judge Darryl Hurt, Jr., and it hears cases involving people under 18 who are delinquent, in need of supervision, neglected, or abused. Because these files involve children, they are restricted and are not ordinary public records. The county confirms the youth categories on its own page.

The official summary of who Youth Court serves appears on the George County Youth Court page, which we used to describe the restricted categories.

Because that page makes the confidential nature of youth files plain, a member of the public should not expect to pull a Youth Court record the way they would a Circuit Court civil file.

George County Justice Court

Justice Court is the busiest entry point for everyday legal matters in George County. It hears civil actions under $3,500, misdemeanor charges, felony preliminary hearings, and a wide mix of citations. Two justice judges share the work: Mike Bullock for District 1 and Marty Davis for District 2. Angela Edwards serves as the clerk and administrator, and the court sits at 368 Cox Street, a short walk from the main courthouse.

The citation mix is what makes this court matter for traffic and warrant questions. It takes tickets from the Highway Patrol, the Sheriff's Department, the county constable, MDOT, Fish and Wildlife, and the Department of Marine Resources. That range is why a reader searching for a George County Circuit Court ticket often belongs in Justice Court instead. The county lays out the judges, hours, and case types on its Justice Court page.

That page confirms the dollar limit and the citation agencies, which together explain why so much local enforcement work flows through this one court before anything reaches the Circuit bench.

Lucedale Municipal Court

City cases in Lucedale run through the Municipal Court rather than the county courts. This court handles city ordinance violations, municipal misdemeanors, and city traffic tickets written inside the city limits. Police Chief Kellum Fairley leads the department at 545 Oak Street, and City Hall sits at 5126 Main Street. The city accepts online credit-card payments for court fines, and clicking the city's fine-payment link means a user agrees to the online payment terms.

Mississippi describes the role of municipal courts statewide, which helps explain where a city ticket fits against the county courts. The state judiciary lays out that jurisdiction on its Municipal Court page.

That state page confirms municipal courts handle misdemeanors, ordinances, and city traffic violations, which keeps Lucedale's city docket separate from the Circuit, Chancery, and Justice records held at the county courthouse.

Specialty Courts and Diversion Options

George County does not publish a separate drug court, veterans court, mental health court, or DUI court page. That is a real gap rather than a hidden program, so no formal specialty docket should be assumed. The county does document related functions that serve some of the same needs. The Chancery Clerk handles drug, alcohol, and mental writs, and Chancery Court hears commitments of mentally disabled persons.

On the criminal side, the District Attorney for the 19th Judicial District runs a Pre-Trial Diversion Program, a Worthless Check Unit, and Victim Support Services. The office does not publish eligibility rules or fees, so a reader should call the diversion line at 228-769-3490 rather than rely on guesswork. These programs are the closest local alternatives to a problem-solving court.

Bastardy action

A paternity and support case that the George County Circuit Court is authorized to hear.

Equity appeal

A challenge to a County Court decision that goes to Chancery Court rather than Circuit Court.

Commitment

A court process for certain mental-health treatment orders, handled on the chancery side.

Pre-trial diversion

A prosecutor-run program that can resolve a charge without a conviction for eligible defendants.

Reaching the Right Clerk for Circuit Court Records

Circuit Court case files, the judgment roll, criminal fines, marriage licenses, and jury matters all run through the Circuit Clerk. The office is at the front of the courthouse and is open on weekdays. For the full record set across every county court, the broader George County court records guide maps each record type to its office, and a closer profile of the clerk's duties sits on the George County Circuit Clerk page.

The county does not run one unified case search that covers every court, so the office-by-office route remains the reliable public channel. The Circuit Clerk also links a 2026 Circuit Court calendar that lists term dates for the year. For chancery, probate, divorce, land, and guardianship files, the Chancery Clerk at 601-947-4801 is the correct counter instead.