Superior Court of Pickens County, Georgia Filing Requirements

Ink:

black

Font

Minimum font size:

12 pt

Specific typeface required:

No

Paper:

8.5x11

One-sided printing:

Yes

Margins

1″ on all sides

Line spacing:

double

Line numbering:

No

Page numbering:

bottom-center

Per Uniform Superior Court Rule 36 (filing/processing): materials shall be typed, legibly written or printed on one side only in black ink suitable for reproduction, on opaque white 8.5x11 paper of good quality. (Do NOT import appellate typeface/14-pt requirements — those are Supreme Court/Court of Appeals rules and do not apply to this trial court.)

County:

Yes

Court name:

Yes

Case number:

Yes

Party block:

Yes

Document designation:

Yes

Caption: 'IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF PICKENS COUNTY, STATE OF GEORGIA', party block (Plaintiff v. Defendant), and 'CIVIL ACTION FILE NO. ___' per Uniform Superior Court Rule and the circuit's own form caption.

Fields

• name
• barNumber
• address
• phone
• fax
• email

Required:

Yes

Per O.C.G.A. § 9-11-11 and USCR, every pleading must be signed by attorney of record (or pro se party) with State Bar of Georgia number and contact information. Electronic signatures (e.g. /s/ Name) permitted under USCR 36.18.

Discovery

Interrogatories:

50

No fixed deposition-hour limit in Georgia civil practice or in a located Appalachian Circuit standing order (unlike FRCP's 7-hour rule). Verify with assigned judge.

Per O.C.G.A. § 9-11-33: limited to 50 interrogatories, including subparts, absent leave of court or stipulation (statewide civil practice; no Pickens-specific modification located).

Georgia (O.C.G.A. § 9-11-36) imposes no fixed numeric cap on requests for admission; no Pickens Superior Court / Appalachian Circuit standing-order limit located.

No circuit-wide or Pickens Superior Court-specific page limit for briefs/motions located in an official court-hosted standing order; the Uniform Superior Court Rules do not set a generally applicable numeric page cap. Verify any limit with the assigned judge's chambers.

Methods

• e-service via eFileGA
• US Mail
• statutory personal service for process

Proof of service:

Yes

Completion:

Service via eFileGA is complete upon electronic transmission to designated recipients/registered users on the case.

Consent rules:

Attorneys who are registered eFileGA users are served electronically through the platform; e-service of filed documents is effected via eFileGA. Service of original process/summons must still be perfected under O.C.G.A. (e-service does not substitute for service of process).

E-service email notice:

24 hours

Platform:

eFileGA (Odyssey / Tyler Technologies) — Pickens SUPERIOR COURT uses eFileGA specifically; note PeachCourt is used for Fannin/Gilmer/Pickens STATE Court and for Fannin/Gilmer Superior Court — do NOT use PeachCourt for Pickens Superior Court

Mandatory:

Yes

File Format:

Text-searchable PDF for filings; proposed orders should be submitted in editable Microsoft Word per assigned-judge practice

OCR required:

No

Filing deadline:

Electronic filing available 24/7; per O.C.G.A. § 9-11-5-related e-filing practice a document transmitted and accepted by 11:59 p.m. ET is filed that day (confirm any clerk cutoff for same-day docketing)

Exhibit labeling:

Label exhibits by content/letter, e.g. 'Ex. A: Smith Deposition'

Document linking:

Yes

Document title:

Use a descriptive document title/lead document type identifying the filing party and nature of relief, e.g. 'Defendant ABC Corp.'s Motion for Summary Judgment' (eFileGA filing-code + document-title convention).

eFileGA/Odyssey platform-level limits apply (commonly large per-document caps; verify current eFileGA limit and split oversized submissions). No Pickens Superior Court-specific MB limit located in an official court-hosted order.

Items

• Social Security number — omit or last 4 only
• Taxpayer ID — last 4 only
• Financial account numbers — last 4 only
• Date of birth — year only
• Names of minor children — initials only

Redaction:

Yes

Per O.C.G.A. § 9-11-7.1 and USCR 21.6 (redaction of protected/personal identifiers), the filer is responsible for redacting protected identifying information; the clerk does not review for redaction.

Format:

Editable Microsoft Word (.docx) preferred for the assigned judge

Prohibition:

Do not rely on scanned/non-editable proposed orders where an editable version is expected by chambers

Consent motions:

Indicate consent/agreement of parties on the face of the proposed order or accompanying motion where applicable.

Delivery method:

Email the proposed order to the assigned judge's office/designee (Weaver: SuperiorCourtAppalachian@gmail.com; Priest: lawclerk@ellijay.com; Sosebee: JudicialStaff@JudgeSosebee.com), copied to all parties — consistent with the circuit copies standing order; do not rely solely on uploading via the EFSP for judge delivery.

Proposed orders are expressly within the scope of the AI Standing Order; any AI used to prepare a proposed order triggers the Exhibit 'A' AI Certification requirement.

When:

Per the circuit-wide 'Copies of Civil and Criminal Motions & Responses to Be Sent to Judge's Office' Standing Order (signed by Chief Judge Brenda S. Weaver, March 27, 2025): When an attorney or self-represented party files a motion or response to a motion with the Clerk of Superior Court (in person or electronically), a copy shall be mailed OR emailed (copied to all parties in the case) within twenty-four hours to the Office of the presiding judge. Judge-specific delivery: Hon. Brenda S. Weaver — SuperiorCourtAppalachian@gmail.com / P.O. Box 545, Jasper, GA 30143; Hon. Mary Elizabeth Priest — lawclerk@ellijay.com / 1 Broad Street, Ste #202, Ellijay, GA 30540; Hon. B. Alison Sosebee — JudicialStaff@JudgeSosebee.com / 400 West Main Street, Ste #300, Blue Ridge, GA 30513; Hon. Keith Galligan (Juvenile) — AppJuvCourt@gmail.com / P.O. Box 220, Jasper, GA 30143. Senior Judges presiding by assignment will provide their own process for sending motions and responses to their designee.

Required:

Yes

Filing:

Set by Clerk of Superior Court fee schedule (e.g., civil case initiation per O.C.G.A. § 15-6-77); paid electronically through eFileGA at time of filing.

Service:

Sheriff's/process-server service fees per statute; e-service via eFileGA carries platform service fees.

Scanning:

Clerk scanning/copy fees per statutory schedule.

Technology:

eFileGA/Odyssey transaction and provider fees apply at filing (clerk retains statutorily specified portion of transaction fee).

Attorney required:

Yes

Corporations/LLCs must appear through a licensed Georgia attorney in Superior Court; they cannot be represented by a non-attorney officer.

Conditions:

The e-filing mandate (O.C.G.A. §§ 15-6-11 / 15-7-5) applies to attorneys; self-represented litigants are NOT required to e-file and may file paper documents with the Clerk of Superior Court. Pro se litigants may also voluntarily e-file (eFileGA self-represented access / public access terminals do not require a paid account).

Paper filing allowed:

Yes

Public access terminals:

Clerk of Superior Court, 52/50 North Main Street, Jasper, GA 30143 (706-253-8763). Appalachian Family Law Information Center (APPFLIC) assists self-represented litigants in family-law matters.

Placement:

Signed certification attached to the filing as Exhibit 'A' (Superior Court civil-caption AI Certification form). Required of any attorney or self-represented litigant who uses AI in any capacity to prepare, draft, alter or review a filing or evidence.

Sanctions:

Failure to comply may result in the court striking the filing or other evidence, imposing sanctions, or disciplinary referral. Mistake, lack of technical expertise, or time constraints will not be accepted as good faith excuses for noncompliance.

Effective date:

2026-05-18 (Standing Order signed May 6, 2026; applies to all filings submitted after May 18, 2026)

Required certification language:

I hereby certify that I used artificial intelligence (AI) to generate documents or exhibits submitted in this case. I hereby certify that every citation to law, case, or statute listed in this pleading, or any evidence submitted in court (including images, videos, audio, text, and other digital content submitted in this case) has been verified as accurate and that it exists for the proposition cited.

Disclosure:

Yes

Verify with assigned division:

No

Applies to divisions

• Hon. Brenda S. Weaver, Chief Superior Court Judge (Appalachian Judicial Circuit)
• Hon. Mary Elizabeth Priest, Superior Court Judge (Appalachian Judicial Circuit)
• Hon. B. Alison Sosebee, Superior Court Judge (Appalachian Judicial Circuit)

Certification:

Yes

When certification applies:

Certification (Exhibit A) is required ONLY when an attorney or self-represented litigant uses AI in any capacity to prepare, draft, alter, or review a filing or evidence. If AI is used, the signed AI Certification must be attached.

Single circuit-wide Superior Court Standing Order Regarding Use of Artificial Intelligence, captioned 'IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF PICKENS COUNTY / GILMER COUNTY / FANNIN COUNTY, APPALACHIAN JUDICIAL CIRCUIT,' signed by all three Superior Court judges, effective immediately and applying to all filings submitted after May 18, 2026 (dated May 6, 2026). It governs all briefs, proposed orders, and other written submissions in the court's criminal and civil dockets, plus evidence (images, videos, audio, text, other digital content). A separate, distinct AI standing order exists for the JUVENILE courts of the same three counties (signed by Chief Juvenile Judge Keith Galligan and Juvenile Judge Patricia A. King, dated May 13, 2026) — it is NOT the Superior Court order. Each Appalachian Circuit Superior Court judge serves all three counties; no judge has declined to enter the AI order. The use of AI does not relieve attorneys of obligations under Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1 and 3.1.