Stephens County Detention Center

Start with Stephens County Inmate Search. Enter the last name and watch for a booking time and a bond line. If nothing appears, call the detention center on 706-886-2514, which a directory describes as an all-hours information line, and give the full name and birth date.

The Georgia Department of Corrections lists the jail at 1677 Scenic Drive, Toccoa, GA 30577. The Sheriff's Office is at a separate address, 70 N. Alexander Street, Suite 205, Toccoa, GA 30577, at 706-886-2525. A jail directory says mail to inmates goes to the Scenic Drive address.

The directory says to call 706-886-2514 for bond amounts and visit times. If the person answering cannot help, the Sheriff's office at 706-886-2525 can point you to the right desk. Keep the person's booking number ready.

A directory says cash goes to the jail's bonding window or to the clerk of court, and lists cash, a cashier's check, or a money order. It gives no hours. The Clerk of Superior Court is at 70 North Alexander Street, Room 202, and answers at 706-886-9496. Call before you go.

A directory says some jails do, with a fee, but it does not say this one does. Ask 706-886-2514: Is there a card option for a bond? What is the fee? Who runs it?

No Stephens County bond schedule turned up in our search, so no dollar figures are printed. A judge sets the amount for each person. A defense lawyer can ask for it to be lowered, and the number appears on Stephens County Inmate Search when it is set.

A magistrate judge handles the first appearance, and O.C.G.A. 17-4-26 requires it within 72 hours of arrest. The Stephens County Magistrate Court is at 70 N. Alexander Street, Suite 107, Toccoa, and its number is 706-886-6205. Its website says the judge considers bail at that hearing, and if the judge cannot set bail, the defendant is told.

Yes. Only a superior court judge can grant bail for murder, rape, armed robbery, and certain other crimes (O.C.G.A. 17-6-1). A person charged with one may wait longer. A lawyer or the clerk at 706-886-9496 can tell you how a hearing is requested.

Georgia lists offenses, in O.C.G.A. 17-6-12, for which a judge may not allow release on a signature only. Among them are burglary and aggravated assault. Release needs cash, a professional bondsman, or property that the sheriff has approved.

Fifteen percent of the bond is the top figure. A $50 minimum applies to each charge, even when 15 percent is smaller (O.C.G.A. 17-6-30). Ask the Sheriff's desk at 706-886-2525 which bondsmen sign in Stephens County, because no list is posted online.

Georgia lets the sheriff of the county of the offense approve property as security (O.C.G.A. 17-6-12). The Stephens County rules for equity, location, and who signs are not posted online. One directory guesses at twice the bond. Call the Sheriff at 706-886-2525 and ask for the checklist.

Cash given to the court generally comes back after the case ends, less fines and costs. Ask the clerk at 706-886-9496 about the steps. A bondsman's charge does not come back through the court.

No. Money for visits, calls, or snacks only goes into an account. It cannot buy release. If a stranger asks for gift cards or an app transfer to free someone, stop and call 706-886-2514.

The Mountain Circuit Public Defender, 226 Grant Street, Clarkesville, serves Stephens, Banks, Habersham, and Rabun counties. Call 706-754-6427 and ask to apply.

The Department of Juvenile Justice assigns Stephens County to the Gainesville Regional Youth Detention Center, 450 Crescent Drive, Gainesville, GA 30501. You can reach the state at 404-508-6500. Adult searches leave out juveniles, so phone to ask.

Expect a warrant, and expect the court to go after the bond money. Pledged property can be pursued. Contact a lawyer and the clerk at 706-886-9496 immediately.

Not every arrest stays in county court. A federal charge from Stephens County is filed in the Northern District of Georgia and heard in its Gainesville Division: Sidney O. Smith Federal Building & US Courthouse, 121 Spring Street SE, Room 201, Gainesville, GA 30501-3789, phone 678-450-2760. A federal magistrate judge decides whether the person can go home before trial. The U.S. Marshals hold federal detainees, sometimes in a county jail by contract. For someone already sentenced, check the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

Stephens County offices involved in criminal cases:

• Stephens County Clerk of Superior Court (also clerk for State Court), 70 North Alexander Street, Suite 202, Toccoa, GA 30577, (706) 886-3598
• Stephens County Magistrate Court, 70 North Alexander Street, Suite 107, Toccoa, GA 30577, (706) 886-6205
• Stephens County Solicitor-General, State Court, 70 North Alexander Street, Toccoa, GA 30577, (706) 886-1215
• Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney, Stephens County office, 70 North Alexander Street, Suite 208, Toccoa, GA 30577, (706) 886-7920
• Mountain Judicial Circuit Public Defender (serving Stephens County from Clarkesville), 226 Grant Street, Clarkesville, GA 30523, (706) 754-6427

Because the clerk, the magistrate, the Solicitor-General and the District Attorney are all housed in the same courthouse, most people with a Stephens County case will appear in one building on North Alexander Street. Your ticket or bond papers list the court and date. Select a type of charge below for a step-by-step overview.

Stephens County misdemeanors are prosecuted in the State Court of Stephens County, which has countywide jurisdiction over misdemeanors and traffic offenses. The elected Solicitor-General brings these cases by accusation, without a grand jury. Arrests and tickets by the Stephens County Sheriff's Office and Georgia State Patrol generally land in State Court, while Toccoa police citations for city ordinance or traffic violations usually begin in Toccoa Municipal Court.

After booking

In Stephens County, many people charged with a misdemeanor go home within hours, either on a citation or after posting bond. A defendant who is not released must appear before a judge within 48 hours if arrested without a warrant, or within 72 hours if arrested on one. A Stephens County magistrate typically presides over that first appearance, covering the charge, bond conditions and the right to counsel.

Appointed attorneys

A person who cannot afford a lawyer and could be jailed has a right to appointed counsel, even for a misdemeanor. The court appoints a lawyer for anyone who qualifies; raise the issue at arraignment. The Mountain Circuit Public Defender, (706) 754-6427, and the Clerk of Court, (706) 886-3598, can explain how to apply.

From arraignment to disposition

The first State Court date is usually arraignment, where the accusation is read and a plea entered. Most cases are then resolved through negotiation with the Solicitor-General: a reduced charge, a pretrial diversion agreement ending in dismissal, or a First Offender plea that leaves no conviction when the sentence is completed. Toccoa Municipal Court has no jury, so a jury demand there sends the case to State Court, where juries consist of six people. Filing a speedy trial demand requires trial in the current or next term of court.

Penalties and timeline

Most misdemeanors in Georgia carry up to 12 months in jail and a $1,000 fine, and high and aggravated misdemeanors allow fines up to $5,000. A first DUI carries 10 days to 12 months, with at least 24 hours served, a $300 to $1,000 fine, community service and a risk-reduction course, much of it usually probated. A Stephens County misdemeanor generally takes one to several months.

The Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney prosecutes all felonies in Stephens County, working from an office in the Toccoa courthouse. These cases are heard in Stephens County Superior Court by judges who also serve Habersham, Rabun and Banks counties. Burglary, theft over $1,500, drug sales and aggravated assault make up much of the felony docket.

The magistrate stage

A felony defendant first appears before a Stephens County magistrate within the 48- or 72-hour limit. On most felony charges, that Stephens County magistrate may set bond. The defense may request a commitment hearing, at which the State must show probable cause before the case is bound over to Superior Court. If the grand jury indicts first, the hearing is usually no longer held.

Grand jury, then arraignment

Georgia felonies typically require a grand jury indictment, although a defendant may waive that step and proceed by accusation. Someone held in the Stephens County jail for 90 days without an indictment has a right to have bond set. After indictment, the case is arraigned in Superior Court, a plea is entered and discovery is exchanged.

The Public Defender

The Mountain Judicial Circuit Public Defender's Office, part of the Georgia Public Defender Council, represents qualifying felony defendants in Stephens County Superior Court. The circuit office in Clarkesville can be reached at (706) 754-6427. If the office has a conflict, the court appoints another lawyer.

Outcomes and sentencing

Most Stephens County felonies are resolved through plea agreements. First Offender sentencing is available to many defendants with no prior felony. Defendants with drug or alcohol problems may ask about the circuit's accountability court program. At trial, a 12-person jury must return a unanimous verdict. Most felonies carry a minimum of one year, often a combination of prison and probation. Most Stephens County felony cases take between six and eighteen months to resolve after arrest.

Seven crimes make up Georgia's serious violent felony category: murder, armed robbery, kidnapping, rape, aggravated child molestation, aggravated sodomy and aggravated sexual battery. In Stephens County they are prosecuted in Superior Court by the Mountain Circuit District Attorney, and every phase of the case is governed by stricter rules than other felonies.

Bond

A Stephens County magistrate has no authority to set bond for these charges. A Superior Court judge must hold a hearing first, and many defendants remain in the Stephens County jail until trial or plea.

The defense

Stephens County defendants who cannot afford a lawyer are represented by the Mountain Circuit Public Defender, (706) 754-6427. In a murder case where the State seeks death, the Capital Defender Division of the Georgia Public Defender Council generally takes over.

What the statutes require

• Murder: a Stephens County conviction means life with parole eligibility after 30 years, life without parole, or death, with a death sentence permitted only after a unanimous jury finds a statutory aggravating circumstance.
• Rape: a Stephens County conviction carries life, life without parole, or a term of 25 years to life followed by probation for life.
• Armed robbery: a conviction in Stephens County Superior Court brings 10 to 20 years or a life sentence.

The non-murder serious violent felonies carry a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison that cannot be suspended, probated or paroled. These charges are excluded from First Offender treatment, and a Stephens County defendant convicted of a second serious violent felony must receive life without parole. Under Marsy's Law, approved by Georgia voters in 2018, victims receive notice of hearings and may be heard at bond, plea and sentencing.

Time involved

Because of forensic testing, expert witnesses and complex pretrial motions, a violent felony case in Stephens County commonly takes one to three years, and death-penalty prosecutions often take longer.

Not every arrest stays in county court. A federal charge from Stephens County is filed in the Northern District of Georgia and heard in its Gainesville Division: Sidney O. Smith Federal Building & US Courthouse, 121 Spring Street SE, Room 201, Gainesville, GA 30501-3789, phone 678-450-2760. A federal magistrate judge decides whether the person can go home before trial. The U.S. Marshals hold federal detainees, sometimes in a county jail by contract. For someone already sentenced, check the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.