Brantley County Detention Center

Release on bond happens at the detention center, 95 John Wilson Street, Nahunta, GA 31553, which shares the sheriff's main line 912-462-6141. Jailers can read off the booked charges and any amount already fixed by a judge, provided the caller supplies a legal name and birthday. Georgia's 15-10-2 lets magistrates hold courts of inquiry, and the local Magistrate Court sits at 234 Brantley Street, Suite 300, Nahunta, GA 31553, 912-462-6780. Certain Schedule I or II drug sales, along with treason, murder, rape and armed robbery, sit on the 17-6-1 list, so only a Waycross Circuit superior judge may grant bail on those. The sheriff lists approved bonding companies on its jail page.

State law in 17-6-1 lets land or other property back a bond after the local sheriff signs off on it. Nahunta's jail page adds one more step: a $20 money order must accompany every single property bond a family writes. Because approval rests with the sheriff, ask about the offered property before driving to Nahunta with a deed. Questions about what is accepted go to the jail at 912-462-6141. Families without property to pledge can turn to one of the bonding companies the sheriff's jail page lists as approved.

Georgia law fixes two separate deadlines here. Warrantless arrests get 48 hours under 17-4-62; 17-4-26 allows 72 when officers had a warrant in hand. Magistrates may hold courts of inquiry under 15-10-2; here that bench works from Suite 300 of the Brantley Street courthouse, phone 912-462-6780. Whether someone remains on John Wilson Street is a question for 912-462-6141. Any 17-6-1 defendant waits on a superior judge instead, and felony paperwork lands with the clerk, 912-462-5635, whose counter runs eight until five. Have the booking or case number ready when contacting that Suite 200 office.

Commercial sureties promise the court the entire amount and keep a premium for doing so. That premium may not top 15 percent of face value, surcharges counted, under 17-6-30, yet $50 per charge is always allowed as a floor. The sheriff approves the sureties offered on a bond, and the sheriff's jail page lists the companies currently approved. Get the premium in writing, and learn the company's policy on a skipped hearing, before anyone signs. Per-charge bond figures come from the jail, 912-462-6141. Charges listed in 17-6-1 cannot be bonded until a superior court judge allows release.

Beginning July 2024, Senate Bill 63 rewrote 17-6-12 so that no judge may grant unsecured release on a bail-restricted charge. People accused of one of those offenses walk out only with cash or other secured means, a professional surety, or sheriff-approved property. DUI and bail jumping both appear on that long statutory list, alongside more serious violent and drug offenses. Locally, then, a signature bond is unavailable for those counts, so relatives should line up money, a surety company or land. The jail, 912-462-6141, can tell callers which charges were booked.

Skipping court can produce a separate bail-jumping count, and 17-6-12 treats that offense as bail restricted, so no unsecured release follows. Felony and juvenile case files are kept by the superior court clerk, 234 Brantley Street, Suite 200, Nahunta, GA 31553, 912-462-5635. Anyone picked up again is rebooked at 95 John Wilson Street, Nahunta, GA 31553. Anyone who misses a hearing should phone defense counsel that day; the surety company that wrote the paper will expect a call too. Read the bond paperwork to see the court date and courtroom listed.

Citations written by Nahunta police go to the city's municipal court, which the city describes as interpreting and adjudicating state laws and city ordinances. Nahunta lets drivers pay traffic tickets and citations online from its payment page, and mailed payments go to City of Nahunta, P.O. Box 156, Nahunta, GA 31553. Its doors open from 8:30 until 4:30 on weekdays other than holidays, and courtroom attire rules are enforced. City Hall answers at 912-462-5631. Read the ticket itself to see which court and date are printed on it.

Indigent defendants across Bacon, Brantley, Charlton, Coffee, Pierce and Ware are assigned lawyers by one Waycross Circuit defender office. Its office is at 300 Carswell Avenue, Waycross, GA 31501, open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, phone 912-287-4360, fax 912-287-4362. A defender can be requested through the state council's online form. Applying soon after booking gives appointed counsel a chance to ask for a lower bond or different conditions. Someone who does not qualify will need to hire a private attorney, and retained lawyers can raise the same bond arguments.

The Waycross Judicial Circuit district attorney prosecutes superior court cases for the six circuit counties. The office is at 306 Albany Avenue, Waycross, GA 31501, phone 912-287-4395. The circuit also runs a superior court drug court that serves Bacon, Brantley, Coffee, Pierce and Ware; its program coordinator answers at 912-287-4350. Felony indictments and trials for the six counties are that office's work. Paperwork for each local felony prosecution remains in Suite 200 at Nahunta's courthouse, 912-462-5635. Defense counsel can say whether the drug court program fits a case.

Georgia's 42-4-14 states that nothing in that section denies a person bond or release when otherwise eligible, so a detainer does not erase bail rights. Posting bond may still send the person to ICE custody instead of home. Immigration regulation 8 CFR 287.7(d) limits such a hold to 48 hours after release would otherwise happen, skipping Saturday, Sunday and holidays. Atlanta's ICE field office takes calls about such holds at 404-893-1290. With a detainer lodged, consult immigration counsel before spending anything on bail. Questions on the local charge go to the jail at 912-462-6141.

Kids needing locked custody do not stay at the John Wilson Street jail; the state sends them to its Harris Road youth center in Waycross (3275, ZIP 31503), 912-287-6680. Juvenile court filings are handled by the superior court clerk in Nahunta, 234 Brantley Street, Suite 200, Nahunta, GA 31553, 912-462-5635. Families can request a circuit defender for the child at 912-287-4360. Juvenile filings in Nahunta are handled by a designated staff member in the clerk's office. A juvenile docket number speeds up any phone inquiry.

Federal charges bypass local bond. This county's federal cases go to the Southern District's Waycross Division, which holds court in a Tebeau Street building (601, ZIP 31501). For case questions, the court sends callers to its Brunswick clerk at 912-280-1330; district clerk offices keep 8:30-to-five weekday hours. Release follows Title 18, section 3142, which lets a judge release a defendant on conditions such as travel limits, regular reporting or third-party custody, or order detention. The Tebeau Street office is not always staffed, so the court asks that mail go to PO Box 1636, Brunswick, GA 31521.

The Waycross Judicial Circuit serves six southeast Georgia counties: Bacon, Brantley, Charlton, Coffee, Pierce and Ware. It sits in the First Judicial Administrative District, whose office answers at 912-459-1315. The district sends hearing-date questions to each county's clerk of court; locally that means Suite 200 in Nahunta, 912-462-5635. Prosecutors work from Albany Avenue in Waycross, and the circuit public defender keeps its office on Carswell Avenue in the same city. The circuit's superior court drug court takes participants from five of the six counties, this one included. Superior court for local cases meets at the courthouse on Brantley Street, where US-82 crosses GA-301 in Nahunta.

Three county courts, the Nahunta city court and one federal court can hear a case from this county.

• Superior Court (felonies; the clerk also manages juvenile court, jury management and child support receipts): Clerk of Superior Court, 234 Brantley Street, Suite 200, Nahunta, GA 31553, 912-462-5635.
• Magistrate Court: 234 Brantley Street, Suite 300, Nahunta, GA 31553, 912-462-6780.
• Probate Court: 234 Brantley Street, Suite 100, Nahunta, GA 31553, 912-462-5192.
• Nahunta Municipal Court: City of Nahunta, 9911 Main Street North, Nahunta, GA 31553, 912-462-5631.
• Federal court, Waycross Division of the Southern District of Georgia: 601 Tebeau Street, Waycross, GA 31501, 912-283-2870.

Each citation or summons prints the court's name near the top.

The clerk's office is at 234 Brantley Street, Suite 200, Nahunta, GA 31553, mailing address P.O. Box 1067, Nahunta, GA 31553. Its counter keeps eight-to-five hours Monday through Friday (call 912-462-5635; fax 912-462-6247). According to the state clerks' authority, the office manages the superior and juvenile courts, jury management, the child support receiver and the board of equalization. It also offers notary public commissions, passport applications and recording of military discharges, and it handles criminal, civil, real estate and juvenile records. Directions from I-95 Exit 29 follow US-17 and US-82 west about 26 miles to Nahunta.

Magistrate Court works from 234 Brantley Street, Suite 300, Nahunta, GA 31553, phone 912-462-6780, inside the Brantley Street building shared with Probate and the superior court clerk. Georgia's 15-10-2 sets out what every magistrate court may do: hear applications for arrest and search warrants, issue good-behavior and peace bonds, hold courts of inquiry, try county ordinance violations, and decide civil claims up to $15,000 along with dispossessory and distress warrant cases. Bail on 17-6-1 offenses is reserved for the superior court, so serious felonies move up to a Waycross Circuit judge. For custody status, the jail line is 912-462-6141. Bring the case or warrant number when calling the court so staff can find the file quickly.

Look for Probate Court in Suite 100 of 234 Brantley Street, Nahunta, GA 31553, phone 912-462-5192; the county also publishes an email address for the judge's office. Its courthouse stands where US-82 meets GA-301, about 26 miles west of the US-17 junction for drivers coming from I-95 Exit 29. Suite 200 belongs to the superior court clerk and Suite 300 to Magistrate Court. The county's constitutional officers page lists the probate office beside the sheriff, tax commissioner, magistrate and coroner. General county questions go to the main office at 33 Allen Road, 912-462-5256.

A Brantley warrant usually moves through these steps.

• Step 1: A judge signs the warrant; Magistrate Court answers at 912-462-6780.
• Step 2: Deputies or Nahunta police make the arrest, and the jail books the person, 912-462-6141.
• Step 3: Before that 48- or 72-hour deadline passes, a judge sees the defendant and takes up bail.
• Step 4: The case continues in the court that holds jurisdiction, with felonies kept by the clerk at 912-462-5635.

A 17-6-1 charge needs a superior court judge before bail can be set. Jot the warrant number down before calling any office.

The county's court page lists no state court, and felonies are tried in superior court; misdemeanor citations written by Nahunta officers go to the city's municipal court, which hears state-law and ordinance cases. Felony prosecutions open with booking at John Wilson Street and an initial hearing inside the statutory window. The Waycross Circuit district attorney, 912-287-4395, then reviews the case and may seek an indictment in superior court. Arraignment, motions and plea talks follow, then trial or a plea, and sentencing on conviction. Every filing lands in the criminal file kept in Suite 200. The circuit also runs a superior court drug court for Bacon, Brantley, Coffee, Pierce and Ware. Defendants short on funds for counsel may apply to the circuit defender, 912-287-4360.

One district attorney prosecutes superior court cases for the whole Waycross circuit from Albany Avenue in Waycross (306, ZIP 31501); call 912-287-4395. Its caseload spans Bacon, Brantley, Charlton, Coffee, Pierce and Ware. Nahunta's superior court clerk, 912-462-5635, keeps those prosecution files. Victim and witness questions about a superior court case belong with that Waycross office as well. The circuit's superior court drug court, which accepts cases from this county, has a program coordinator at 912-287-4350. Questions about whether someone is still in custody go to the jail rather than the prosecutor.

Low-income defendants apply to the circuit defender on Carswell Avenue in Waycross (300, ZIP 31501), staffed 8:30 until five each weekday; phone 912-287-4360, fax 912-287-4362. Nahunta appears among the six county seats on the council's office page, which carries a web form for requesting appointed counsel. Those over the income line retain private counsel instead. Either way, the superior court clerk keeps the criminal file at 234 Brantley Street, Suite 200, Nahunta, GA 31553. Ask for counsel before the first court date if possible, so an appointed lawyer can be present from the start.

The city says its municipal court provides a fair and impartial court of law, interpreting and adjudicating applicable state laws and ordinances. Its courthouse doors open at 8:30 and close at 4:30 on weekdays, apart from official holidays and declared emergencies. Phones and other devices must be turned off, photos and recordings are banned and no food or drink is allowed. The suggested dress code rules out shorts, hats for men, halter or tube tops, flip-flops and ripped jeans. Drivers settle tickets on the city's payment page or by mail to P.O. Box 156, Nahunta, GA 31553; City Hall answers at 912-462-5631.

Juvenile court is among the courts managed by the superior court clerk, 234 Brantley Street, Suite 200, Nahunta, GA 31553, phone 912-462-5635, and the clerk's office has staff assigned to juvenile matters. Youths needing secure custody are held by the state at its Harris Road center in Waycross (3275, ZIP 31503), the site juvenile justice officials assign to this county. That Harris Road center serves fourteen counties in all, Camden and Glynn among them, and answers at 912-287-6680. Families can request a circuit defender for the child at 912-287-4360. Keep the juvenile case number nearby when calling.

Title 28, section 90 of the U.S. Code groups Brantley with Atkinson, Bacon, Charlton, Coffee, Pierce and Ware in the Southern District's Waycross Division. Court for the division is held at Waycross, at 601 Tebeau Street, Waycross, GA 31501, clerk's office phone 912-283-2870. The court notes that the Waycross office is not always fully staffed and asks that correspondence go to PO Box 1636, Brunswick, GA 31521. Case questions go to the Brunswick clerk's office at 912-280-1330. Release in federal court follows Title 18, section 3142.

A sentence can combine jail time, probation and fines. Someone sentenced to state prison stays at the Nahunta jail until state corrections officers transfer them to a diagnostic prison, after which the Find an Offender search shows where they are housed. Sentencing papers stay with the superior court clerk at 234 Brantley Street, Suite 200, Nahunta, GA 31553, 912-462-5635. The circuit's superior court drug court, coordinator 912-287-4350, serves this county as well. Deadlines for appeals and post-trial motions are short, so speak with counsel right after sentencing.

Noncitizens can face immigration fallout from even a small plea, so an immigration attorney should review any deal first. Georgia's 42-4-14 requires the jail to try to establish each new arrival's nationality within 48 hours of arrival. After an I-247A arrives, the regulation at 8 CFR 287.7(d) permits at most 48 extra hours of custody, with Saturday, Sunday and holidays not counted. ICE runs its regional field office out of Atlanta, phone 404-893-1290. Georgia's 42-4-14 also states that the nationality check does not by itself deny bond to someone otherwise eligible. Bring up immigration status with defense counsel early, and send detainer questions to the jail at 912-462-6141.