Banks County Jail Inmate Bail & Bonds

Bond is handled at the jail, 160 Windmill Farm Road, Homer, GA 30547, where the county says bond hearings themselves also take place. Carry photo identification issued by a government, plus the booking number and legal name of the person being bailed out. Georgia law lets the jail keep a person arrested for driving with an alcohol concentration over the legal limit for as long as six hours from booking, 17-6-1(b)(2)(A). Phone 706-677-2248 before going to learn if every charge has a bond amount yet, how payment works and which payment forms the desk takes.

For each count, a Georgia judge picks from four release types: personal recognizance, cash, pledged real estate or a bondsman's surety. A cash bond paid in full is refunded when the case closes and every court date has been kept, minus any fine or costs the court deducts. With a property bond, land stands in for money. A bonding company charges a nonrefundable premium, and that fee stays with the company whatever the outcome of the Banks case. Subsection (b)(1) of 17-6-1 guarantees bond on any misdemeanor, and when a judge sets a money bond, (e)(4) requires the entire amount to be secured.

Because 17-6-1 gives sureties to the sheriff to approve, the Banks sheriff decides whether land offered as security is acceptable. Owners should bring the recorded deed, proof of the property's value and every owner's signature. Land deeds are filed with the superior court clerk at 144 Yonah-Homer Road, Homer, GA 30547, phone 706-677-6240, and the county links an online property search. Under 17-6-1(j) the sheriff approves the surety, and once approved, the sheriff must take that bond. State law lets the sheriff take real property as security for the bond's full face amount.

Most bonds are set at the jail, where the county says a visiting judge or a video court holds bond hearings. For most charges that judge is a magistrate; the Magistrate Court office is in Suite 10 at 144 Yonah-Homer Road, Homer, GA 30547, phone 706-677-6270. Subsection (a) of 17-6-1 reserves bond for a superior court judge, who in Banks now sits in the Mountain Judicial Circuit, in murder, rape, armed robbery and some trafficking cases, and in kidnapping, arson, aggravated assault or burglary when the accused had previously been convicted of, was on probation or parole for, or was on bail for kidnapping, arson, aggravated assault, burglary or an offense listed in paragraphs (1) through (10) of that subsection. When circumstances justify it, defense counsel can request a bond reduction.

Georgia's 17-6-1 tells judges to deny bond only if the defendant poses a significant risk of fleeing, a threat to others, a risk of new crimes or a risk of intimidating witnesses. Judges may attach conditions such as a curfew, no contact with the alleged victim or a treatment program. If 90 days pass with no indictment returned, the jailed defendant has a right to bond. A Banks magistrate cannot release anyone charged with murder, rape, armed robbery or the other offenses listed in 17-6-1; only a superior court judge can.

Often. Banks County Probate Court, Suite 7, 144 Yonah-Homer Road, Homer, GA 30547, phone 706-677-6250, accepts traffic payments in person by cash, money order or credit or debit card; card payments carry a 4 percent fee and the cardholder's name must match the person presenting it. Mailed payments must be a money order or certified funds made out to the Banks Probate Court with your name and citation or license number; personal checks and telephone payments are not accepted. The county also links the online ticket payment service the county links for paying before the court date.

Probate Court posts that traffic court begins at 9 a.m. and that defendants must arrive before 9 to sign in. Its doors are open eight to five Monday through Thursday and eight to four on Friday at 144 Yonah-Homer Road, Homer, GA 30547, Suite 7, phone 706-677-6250. In Georgia counties without a state court, probate judges may hear certain misdemeanors, traffic cases and game and fish violations unless a jury trial is requested. Anyone paying online will need the state, the jurisdiction, a last name and the citation or license number.

A warrant arrest must reach a judge inside 72 hours (17-4-26); an arrest without a warrant, inside 48 hours (17-4-62). In Banks, the county says these bond hearings happen at the jail with a visiting judge or by video court. Charges, the right to a lawyer and, for most counts, a bond figure are covered then. Anyone who needs a court-appointed lawyer should say so at that first hearing. Magistrate clerks are barred from offering legal advice, but scheduling questions can go to them at 706-677-6270 or to the jail at 706-677-2248.

A missed Superior Court date leads to a bench warrant, and the clerk at 706-677-6240 holds the case number. Whatever happens next, a bondsman keeps the premium. For a missed traffic date, Probate Court at 706-677-6250 can explain what happens next. Georgia's bail-jumping law, 16-10-51, makes a no-show on a felony bond its own felony with a term of one to five years, up to $5,000 in fines, or both; on a misdemeanor bond it is a misdemeanor. Some courts' rules also let a misdemeanor cash bond be forfeited and counted as a guilty plea after a no-show, which subsection (d) of that statute permits.

Yes. At the first appearance, a defendant without money for counsel may ask for the Mountain Circuit Public Defender. That office works from 226 Grant Street in Clarkesville, Georgia 30523, phone 706-754-6427, and it serves Banks, Habersham, Rabun and Stephens counties. Under 17-12-2, eligibility depends on the applicant's finances; a person out on bond fills out a financial affidavit so the office can check it against federal poverty guidelines. Appointed counsel covers misdemeanor and felony cases that could bring jail time, juvenile cases and certain appeals. Should prosecutors pursue a death sentence, the defense normally moves to the public defender council's capital unit, its Capital Defender Division.

Yes. The district attorney prosecutes crimes committed in Banks County and keeps an office at 144 Yonah-Homer Road, Homer, GA 30547, Suite 7, phone 706-677-6205, staffed eight to five on weekdays. The county describes the office as giving special attention to violent and serious crimes, drug offenses and repeat offenders, as well as domestic violence and DUI cases. Since 2018, when voters added Marsy's Law to Georgia's constitution, the people harmed by a crime must be told about hearings and may speak when bond, a plea or a sentence is decided.

A Banks judge can still set bond on the state charge despite an ICE detainer. Georgia's 42-4-14 says a detainer alone does not justify refusing bond, though posting bond may lead to transfer to federal custody rather than release. Once an I-247A arrives, 8 CFR 287.7(d) lets the jail keep the person as long as 48 more hours for an ICE pickup, with Saturdays, Sundays and holidays left out of the count. ICE Atlanta, 180 Ted Turner Dr SW, Suite 522, Atlanta, GA 30303, can be reached at 404-893-1290. Federal cases do not use county bonds. A federal magistrate sitting in Gainesville, the district court division that covers Banks, holds a detention hearing and either sets release conditions or orders the defendant detained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals. The courthouse is at 121 Spring Street SE, Room 201, Gainesville, GA 30501, phone 678-450-2760, with a clerk's counter that closes at 4:45 p.m. on weekdays.

Minors never go through adult bonding at the Windmill Farm Road jail. A Banks youth placed in secure detention goes to the Gainesville Regional Youth Detention Center, 450 Crescent Drive in Gainesville, Georgia 30501, 770-531-4597. Under 15-11-560, juvenile court handles delinquency cases for youths under 17, while 13- to 16-year-olds charged with certain violent felonies, the so-called Seven Deadlies, go to superior court; Georgia treats 17-year-olds as adults. The detention center is run by the Department of Juvenile Justice, and juvenile files are private and stay off the adult inmate search.