Judge Kelly Brooks, Superior Court Judge for the Waycross Judicial Circuit (WJC), was the guest speaker at last week’s Rotary Club meeting. Brooks has an office in Ware County. Prior to his election to the Superior Court, Brooks was a judge for Charlton County State Court and the Municipal Court of Hoboken.
The WJC service area covers six counties. Coffee County is the circuit’s busiest docket, followed by Ware County. Brooks and his fellow judges handle civil filings, domestic cases and criminal cases.
The WJC has exclusive jurisdiction for felony cases and domestic filings. They also operate accountability courts such as Drug Court and Mental Health Court. Brooks reports Pierce County has seen a slight growth in the number of filings since 2021. There were 283 domestic case filings and 430 criminal filings in 2023. “A ‘vast majority’ of cases are closed without the need for jury selection, Brooks says.
Pictured above (l-r) are Judge Kelly Brooks and Rotarian Keith Brooks.
