How to Postpone a Court Date in Georgia: A Detailed Guide

Navigating Court Date Postponement in Georgia

Understanding the process of rescheduling a court date in Georgia is paramount to determining how best to approach your court case. There are multiple potential reasons for needing to reschedule a court date, including:
• Scheduling conflict with judges, expert witnesses, or other lawyers
• Schedule conflicts with significant other, family events, or employment
• Unexpected illness, emergency, lapsed memory, or incorrect or misunderstood court date
• Unforeseen travel requirements, such as a wedding, funeral, or new job location
• Emergency such as sudden illness or death in immediate family
• Car accident on the way to court.
No matter what reason you require for needing to reschedule a court date in Georgia, it is important not to miss the court date or fail to file for an official rescheduling. Missing a court date can have consequences, including:
• Being held in contempt of court
• Being forced to pay attorney’s fees
• Being required to pay a fine
• Having an arrest warrant issued or enforced
• Paying increased attorney costs
• Paying increased interest on restitution.
All of these consequences can make court cases dramatically more expensive and difficult to successfully navigate . Rescheduling a missed court date can be complex and will depend on the type of court involved. In general, rescheduling a missed court date for temporary protection orders for domestic violence (TPO) through a state court in Georgia will require certain steps. These include filing paperwork stating the reason you missed the hearing, an explanation of the new date you wish to schedule, and the approval of the judge involved for that date change. If the judge approves your request, even if your case involves third parties, they’ll be notified of the new date, time, and location.
In some situations, the scheduled court date must be entirely rescheduled, not just simply postponed. In general, a defendant can typically reschedule their court date an unlimited number of times, but the plaintiff may only reschedule the date a maximum of two times within any 12-month period. Extensions of time or continuance of a judge’s order can also be granted due to the non-party’s absence from the proceedings, to allow for the appearance of the defendant or plaintiff’s attorney, and in some cases, to allow the court additional time to make a decision. Unfortunately, while in most cases rescheduling a court date is not overly difficult to do, it can lead to a significant delay in the case.

Acceptable Reasons for Court Date Postponement

Valid reasons to reschedule a court date have been recognized by Georgia courts in many circumstances. Medical emergencies are a standard reason for a judge to postpone a hearing. Similarly, if you have scheduling conflicts with other important matters, courts often grant rescheduling requests. Another common reason for a postponement involves representation. For example, if your attorney can’t make a hearing for good cause, the court usually allows for the matter to be moved.
In addition to those priorities that are important to health, family and professional life, transportation issues can be valid reasons to reschedule a court date. If you or a necessary witness cannot get to court due to distance, illnesses, or other similar complications, many judges will consider postponing the matter.

Court Date Postponement Request Procedure

The first step in requesting that a court date be rescheduled is to obtain and fill out an "Affidavit of Defense Motion to Make Definite." If no opposing party will suffer prejudice, the defense bar regularly agrees to transfer hearings from courthouse to courthouse. It is only when there is a conflict that the motion to continue approach appears and the "Affidavit of Defense Motion to Make Definite" form is used. The opposing party must agree prior to filing the paper with the Clerk of the Court. The Affidavit generally states that both parties agree on a single date for appearance and that the Defendant did receive notice.
The next step involves filing the Affidavit with the Clerk of Court (whoever the Clerk of Court is – in most cases it is the deputy clerk in individual courtrooms) and the State’s Prosecutor/Assistant District Attorney. The key is to file this motion at least three days prior to the scheduled hearing. Any later than that may require a doctor’s excuse or some other extenuating circumstance to be shown to the Court. In other words, the Court usually excuses illness but that is about it.
If the Judge or District Attorney does not object to the motion (and they rarely do), the Clerk of Court signs the order and sends it out to the Clerk of Court where the defendant resides. Assuming there is nothing strange about the particular case, that is all there is to the request to continue the Court Date.

Submitting a Motion to Continue: A How-To

If a solicitor in Georgia has requested several settings but the cases are all on different dockets or for different judges, then it may be appropriate to file a motion or request of continuance for all settings. This should be filed as soon as you feel that you have been taken off guard. The motion or request does not need to be filed well in advance. In our practice we know that we will, at some point, be involved in the prosecution either through plea negotiations or with an actual trial because the client either will not accept a recommendation made by the State or the client has maintained his or her innocence.
A motion to continue is a civil motion that you need to file in court in order to have the date for your case changed. A motion to continue is the single easiest type of motion to write. You will need to sign the motion and file it with the Clerk of Courts at least one week prior to your scheduled court date. If you happen to forget the motion, you can add it to the front of your case calendar when you arrive for court in the morning.
Some courts will have their own forms that you can fill out, but if you feel comfortable filing an original motion, follow the instructions below. Only fill out the parts in bold:
Motion for Continuance Comes now [DEFENDANT’S NAME] in the above-styled case and moves this Court for a grant of continuance; and as ground, shows the Court that the defendant is [UNABLE/REFUSED; unable to do that which was requested of the defendant] and asks the court for the following reasons: [Mother’s illness/Insurance problem/Job transfer/Death in family/Etc.].
This motion is filed in good faith and not for delay. Respectfully submitted, _________________ Attorney for [DEFENDANT’S NAME] 2255 peachtree road ne suite 900 Atlanta, georgia 30309 Phone: [(404) 588-4440] Facsimile: [(404) 285-2225] Georgia Bar number: [INSERT NUMBER HERE] I hereby a true copy of the above Motion to Continue to the Solicitor General’s Office, FAX Number: (404) 330-6527, this the [DATE HERE]. _________________ Attorneys Signature After the motion is filed, an order must be granted by the judge. There are some judges in Georgia who will sign the motion without hearing evidence. As a rule, you should always be prepared to show up in court to try to have the motion signed. If the judge refuses to sign the order, prepare to call roll call in the courtroom and discuss the case. If the case is less serious, it may be reset for a different day. If the case is serious, it may eventually go to trial.

Possible Outcomes of a Court Postponement Request

Unfortunately, not every request to reschedule a court date in Georgia will be approved. The outcome of your request largely depends on the initial reason you asked for the reschedule. Your request is also more likely to be turned down if you are trying to have a hearing rescheduled very close to the original date.
The first and most likely result of a reschedule request is that you will receive the new court date that you have requested. Be aware that this does not necessarily mean that the other party will receive the same date as you, which could be a potential downside to a reschedule request.
The second most likely outcome is that your request may be denied. If you are denied your request , it is very important to adhere to the originally scheduled date. You could face the risk of a default judgment if you decide to ignore a court date and fail to show up.
If your request is denied it does not mean that you have no recourse. You should immediately contact a qualified Georgia attorney who can advise you about your approach. Likely, your attorney will simply file the same motion with the judge. Every judge is different, and many judges will actually take a little longer to consider a request after the first one has already been denied in order to try to accommodate that party’s other commitments.

Legal Help and Resources

You may not have the time to navigate the court system on your own if you are juggling full-time employment, caring duties, or are living with a disability. But there are legal aid and other resources available that can help. In Georgia, you can contact the Atlanta Legal Aid Society, State Bar of Georgia, Georgia Legal Services Program, or Georgia Legal Aid, a service of the State Bar of Georgia. You can also enlist the help of an attorney who is familiar with the laws in your jurisdiction regarding rescheduling. A legal professional at the personal injury law firm of Spaulding Injury Law will be able to provide you clarity on when and how to submit your motion and do what they can to assist you.

Guidelines for a Successful Postponement

In addition to the items already mentioned above, once you’ve found the information about your court date (whether on your notice, the court’s website, or somewhere else), and you believe that rescheduling is necessary, you have to act quickly to get the matter moved. This is one of the biggest mistakes I see new clients make. Clients don’t believe they really need to talk to the judge until a few days before court date. But, new clients who call me to reschedule a court date ask me "Is it too late?" after missing this important safety net. Because most judges will require you to set a hearing in front of the judge to ask permission to move a court date, often you can simply ask permission to reschedule to the new court date at that hearing. Often the judge will approve that request without a hearing. But, if you wait (or if the judge tells you to appear in Court), it’s critical to act very fast and get the ball rolling on this process. Of course, things come up. But, when new clients forget that court is coming up, it’s often because they don’t keep track of their own important dates. There’s not a magic number of days you should start looking for your court date before court; after all, the hearing could be at the beginning of the month, or the end of the month. Often, the clients I represent in these matters have to check a number of times at the court’s website, or their attorneys’ office, before they find the right date. So, don’t delay. Find out the date right now and write down the time and location in a place where you’ll remember. If you make a good faith effort to have someone else appear for you , the judge will likely grant the request. Some clients ask their attorney, or a family member to appear for them. As long as they have properly filled out the necessary paperwork, and have given it to the Clerk’s office, and the other party has not agreed to appear or been prejudiced by the change. Caveat: Just because the judge decides to give you a new date doesn’t mean you can get out of your case entirely. I’ve had new clients go to City Hall and apply for a marriage license, and then tell the judge it’s too late and they’re getting married today-I had a 4-hour hearing scheduled in my office during a major snowstorm, after all. The judge was not impressed with the ruse, and she was even less impressed at the hearing when I told her new husband that he was courting bigamy charges… evidence of the marriage certificate was presented. (Ok, that’s a little dramatic, but you get the point.) So, be prepared to show your case if you want the judge to give you a new date. This includes any facts or evidence about a death in the family, employment conflict, etc. (and be warned…if you missed a hearing for this same reason in the past 12 months, it may not be given much weight). It’s also a good idea to provide proof that you tried to contact the other party. Of course, that doesn’t mean the judge will issue a bench warrant if a party is simply not notified-but if you are a criminal defendant and a victim has obtained a restraining order against you, having proof that you called your lawyer to let them know the date is JUST as important.