Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit, Cherokee County, Georgia

On the front page

 Find downloadable forms for criminal pleas in the BRJC at the "local resources" page.

 Find link to download current domestic violence/protection forms (just above criminal forms) at "local resources" page.

 New |  Revised procedure orders regarding Seminar for Divorcing Parent requirements.

 New| Updated procedure orders- leave of absence  and requirements before modifying temporary orders.

 New| Revised and more uniform Pre-trial Order for use in cases involving Domestic Relations.

 Improvement for proposed attorney withdrawal orders.

  "Fill-in and print" Domestic Final Disposition forms at "local resources" page

 New| Best practices for Contempt petitions, answers and presentations, 

 Best practices in presenting proposed final divorce decrees.

 Link to Consent & Contested Parenting Plan forms at "local resources" page

 Child Support Addendum form for use as attachment to Orders including child support provisions.

 Blue Ridge Circuit - Cherokee County Superior Court 

 Superior Court operations reside in the county judicial facility, but it is not a county court. The Superior Court is the general jurisdiction court in Georgia. Superior Courts are, in effect, circuit courts. The Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit is a single county circuit comprised entirely of only Cherokee County. Court in Cherokee County is held in the Cherokee County Justice Center pictured to the right. For a brief history and overview of the circuit, see About Blue Ridge Circuit We hope that you will return to the Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit website often and that you will find the forms and information available here useful.

 Forms for use in presenting criminal pleas  

 Criminal Plea forms are downloadable from the local resources page

Attorney Withdrawal Orders

 When proposing an order allowing the attorney to withdraw, the address of the client or the new attorney representative, should be included in the body of the order in substantially the following language:

"All future notices and pleadings shall be served upon [client name] at [his/her] address that the Clerk of Court, upon this direction, will designate in the record as: [client address]."

Unrepresented corporations: If an attorney withdraws from representation of a corporation and no attorney is substituted, the unrepresented corporation is subject to having its pleadings stricken since it cannot proceed in court unrepresented.

 Updated operating orders relating to modification of a temporary order in a domestic case, requirements for seminar for divorcing parent attendance and mediation, and procedural rules for leaves of absence are now posted on the "local resources" page.

Disposition forms required

O.C.G.A. 9-11-58(b) states in part:"... As part of the filing of the final judgment, a civil case disposition form shall be filed by the prevailing party or by the plaintiff if the case is settled, dismissed, or otherwise disposed of without a prevailing party; provided, however, that the amount of a sealed or otherwise confidential settlement agreement shall not be disclosed on the civil case disposition form. The form shall be substantially in the form prescribed in Code Section 9-11-133. If any of the information required by the form is sealed by the court, the form shall state that fact and the information under seal shall not be provided. The entry of the judgment shall not be made by the clerk of the court until the civil case disposition form is filed...."

The final disposition form is available at the local resources link .

Final Judgment and Decree of Divorce in the age of worksheets, addendums and parenting plans. 

The final divorce paperwork package has seen dramatic changes in the last few years. The changes have not been made easier by the varied manner in which courts have implemented the changes. Simply, the statute requires many more details to appear in the final judgment. In addition to the information in the language of the judgment, certain attachments are required. Specifically, the child support worksheet and the parenting plan. The statute does not require a child support addendum.  Expect Judges to require  the  addendum  version used in the Blue Ridge Circuit (i.e., added exhibit to proposed judgment) to insure that the language requirements of the statute have been satisfied and to reduce the amount of time required to complete the review of the final judgment by the court. Without the addendum, the time required to review the final judgment would be significantly increased, thus increasing the amount of time parties and attorneys would have to wait on court days. 

Likewise, the statute requiring the parenting plan dictates specific language that must appear in every plan. The approval of a parenting plan form by uniform rule was meant to standardize the process and hopefully offset with efficiencies the expanded efforts required of the parties, attorneys and the court necessary to implement the law. The statute contemplates a separate document and attempts to incorporate parenting plan language into the general settlement agreement should be avoided.

Best practice in presenting your case for final judgment: Whether or not you have previously filed a child support worksheet, (and since many may have been filed) a copy of the worksheet(s) that you want to be incorporated into the final judgment should be attached to the proposed judgment followed by the child support addendum and the parenting plan. Each attachment should be referenced in the judgment as being attached and incorporated as a part of the judgment. Enforcement language is suggested. Jurisdictions probably differ on this practice, but the benefit to the parties in having a complete final judgment package to go along with their settlement agreement (where applicable) is that when they need to reference their judgment, they will not have to call on the clerk or attorney for extra paperwork copies. The judgment and agreement will be the entire body of information regarding the final divorce. This practice also applies where modification is sought.

 Best practices for contempt petitions, answers and presentations: 

1)         The petition shall clearly state the civil action file number of the prior case and the date (or dates) of the order(s) sought to be enforced or modified and shall identify those provisions petitioner contends have been violated or require modification.

2)         The petition should identify those provisions petitioner contends have been violated or require modification by paragraph designation in original order.  A copy of the original order should be made an exhibit to the Petition.  The Petition should also state with specificity the means and dates of each violation.  In the case of an alleged monetary deficiency, the petition should include a spread sheet showing amounts and dates due compared to the amounts and dates paid with reference to methods of proof, (e.g.: log, receipt, etc.).

3)         The Respondent should answer in a like fashion.  For any alleged medical bill deficiency, the petition should include a spread sheet showing dates and amounts of the total bill individually and in the aggregate, the insurance response, and the date and method of communication of the same to the other party.

Parenting plan forms 

Parenting Plans [copies available for download at Local Resources page]

The plan approved by the CSCJ in USCR 24.10 can be used in consent cases.