Not only does Probate Court Judge Keith Wood issue marriage and firearms licenses, he presides over matters such as wills, estates and temporary guardianships of minors and incapacitated adults. John D. Cline is the court's associate judge.
Patty Baker is Cherokee County's Clerk of Superior, State, Juvenile and Magistrate Courts. Her office maintains all recorded documents, including deeds and passports.
To serve as a juror in Cherokee County, you cannot have a felony conviction (unless civil rights have been restored) and you must be a U.S. citizen, a county resident and at least 18 years old. Jurors are randomly selected from a list of eligible citizens that the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners maintains.
The Canton Probation Office is located on the ground level of the former Cherokee County Administration Building. Adults who have been sentenced to felony probation check in with probation officers at this site. Jodi Ford is the chief probation officer.
The Justice Center houses the jury assembly room, deeds records room and superior court clerk on the ground floor; state court rooms, magistrate court offices and the state court clerk's office on the first floor; the Cherokee County Law Library, juvenile court, superior court rooms and pre-trial services on the second floor; probate court, the grand jury room, and the offices of the juvenile court clerk and the district attorney on the third floor.
From personal visits and electronic monitoring to drug testing and curfews, Cherokee County Pre-Trial supervisors use a number of techniques to ensure defendants awaiting trial comply with conditions of release.
Chief Judge John B. Sumner and Judge M. Anthony Baker review cases in which minors ask for consent to marry, enlist in the military or proceed with abortions without parental consent. Delinquent, unruly, abused or neglected children also appear before them.