Search Calhoun County Criminal History

Calhoun County criminal history records are managed by the Superior Court Clerk and the Sheriff's Office in Morgan, the county seat in southwest Georgia. This is one of the smaller counties in the state, so the same office sometimes handles both court clerk and sheriff duties. Criminal case files, arrest logs, and jail data all run through the county offices at the courthouse. The county is part of the Pataula Judicial Circuit. State-level search tools from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation also pull records from Calhoun County. This page covers how to find criminal history data from both local and state sources.

Calhoun County Superior Court Clerk Records

The Calhoun County Superior Court Clerk is in Morgan at the county courthouse. Call (229) 849-2715 for help. This office stores criminal case files from the Calhoun County Superior Court. Felony charges make up most of the criminal docket. Misdemeanors that get bound over from Magistrate Court also end up in the clerk's files. Each case record holds the indictment, plea entries, motions, hearing dates, and the final disposition.

Visit the courthouse in person to search records. Staff can look up cases by name or by case number. Copies are available for a per-page fee. Certified copies cost more but come with the court seal. You need the certified version for any legal filing or official use. Plain copies work fine for personal reference.

Calhoun County is small. The criminal docket is lighter than in larger Georgia counties. That can be a good thing if you are searching records because the staff has more time to help with lookups. It also means fewer cases to sort through when you search by name.

Under O.C.G.A. Section 35-3-34, the Calhoun County court system sends criminal history data to the Georgia Crime Information Center. Convictions and other case results enter the statewide database. So a record from Calhoun County can show up in a state-level search as well.

Calhoun County Sheriff and Arrest Records

The Calhoun County Sheriff's Office is in Morgan. The phone number is (229) 849-2715. The sheriff is the main law enforcement agency in the county. Arrest records, jail bookings, and incident reports all come from this office. Each booking record shows the person's name, arrest date, charges, and bond amount.

Arrest data from the Calhoun County Sheriff gets sent to the GCIC. O.C.G.A. Section 35-3-34 requires this for every law enforcement agency in Georgia. Fingerprints taken at booking also go to the state system. This links each arrest to a specific person, not just a name match. The GCIC record builds over time as new data comes in from Calhoun County and every other county in the state.

Call the sheriff's office to check if someone is in custody. Staff can confirm jail status and what charges the person was booked on. You can also file an open records request for a specific arrest report. Some reports may be held if an investigation is still going on. The office will tell you what is available for release.

The Morgan Police Department makes arrests within the town limits. Those arrests follow the same GCIC reporting rules. All law enforcement in the county feeds data to the same state system.

Criminal Record Restriction in Calhoun County

Georgia uses record restriction, not expungement. When a record in Calhoun County gets restricted, the public can no longer see it. The record still exists. Law enforcement still has access. But regular people and most background check services cannot find it.

Different types of cases qualify. Charges that were not referred to a prosecutor can be restricted after a waiting period. The wait is two years for misdemeanor arrests and four years for most felony arrests. Serious violent felonies need seven years. Dismissed cases and acquittals can move faster. After an acquittal in Calhoun County, the prosecutor has ten days to object. If no objection is filed, the record is sealed. All of this falls under O.C.G.A. Section 35-3-37.

The First Offender Act at O.C.G.A. Section 42-8-60 is also relevant. A first-time offender in Calhoun County who completes their sentence under this act gets discharged with no formal conviction. The record then gets restricted from public searches. There is a retroactive path too. For arrests on or after July 1, 2013, you start with the prosecuting attorney in the Pataula Judicial Circuit. Older cases need contact with the arresting agency.

State Tools for Calhoun County Criminal History

You can search for Calhoun County criminal records using state databases. The Georgia Felon Search costs $15. It checks the GCIC database for felony convictions across Georgia, including Calhoun County. You enter a first name, last name, date of birth, and sex. Results come back fast. The fee applies even when nothing is found. This search only shows felony convictions. No misdemeanors or pending cases.

The Georgia Department of Corrections offender search is free. It covers people who are in a state prison facility right now. If someone was convicted in Calhoun County and sent to a GDC prison, they would show up in these results. People in the county jail or those who finished their sentence will not appear.

The GBI FAQ page explains how the statewide criminal history system works. It covers fingerprint-based background checks, what the GCIC database contains, and how to submit a request. For a full personal record check, you get fingerprinted at a local agency like the Calhoun County Sheriff and pay the processing fee. The GCIC then sends back a report of everything on file under your prints.

How to Search Calhoun County Criminal Records

There are several ways to look up criminal history in Calhoun County. Which path works best depends on what type of record you need.

• Visit the Calhoun County Superior Court Clerk at the courthouse in Morgan for court case records
• Call the clerk at (229) 849-2715 for case lookups and copy requests
• Contact the Calhoun County Sheriff at (229) 849-2715 for arrest reports and jail booking data
• Run a Georgia Felon Search for statewide felony conviction data
• Use the GDC offender search for people in state prison

The clerk covers court case records. The sheriff has arrest and booking data. State tools fill in felony convictions and prison records from across Georgia. You may need to check more than one source for a full view of someone's criminal history in Calhoun County. Since the county is small, most lookups are straightforward and the staff can guide you through the process.

Criminal History in Calhoun County Cities

Morgan is the county seat and the main community in Calhoun County. Arlington and Edison are also in the county, though they are small. None of the cities here are large enough for their own page. All criminal history records for the area run through the county offices in Morgan. Municipal courts in these small towns handle minor offenses within their city limits. Felony cases and serious misdemeanors go through the Calhoun County Superior Court. All arrest data from every agency in the county gets sent to the state GCIC database.

Nearby Counties With Criminal Records

Calhoun County is in southwest Georgia. If the record you need is not in the Calhoun County system, try one of these neighboring counties.

Early County is to the south. Clay County borders to the west. Randolph County is to the north. Terrell County sits to the northeast. Dougherty County, which includes Albany, is to the east. Baker County is to the southeast. Each county has its own clerk, sheriff, and court system for criminal records.