Welcome to the City of Gaffney Municipal Court. The City of Gaffney Municipal Court hears most misdemeanor criminal and traffic cases that occur within the City Limits of Gaffney, South Carolina. The Court is located on the first floor of Gaffney City Hall located at 201 North Limestone Street in Gaffney.
Anyone having business before the Court should be properly and respectfully attired before entering the Court Room.
Traffic and Criminal court is held on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1:30pm. Please ensure that your summons or citation has 201 North Limestone Street as the court address.
Recent legislation passed by the South Carolina Legislature requires all arrest warrants be signed by a law enforcement officer. Citizens are allowed to obtain a courtesy summons. Citizens who feel that they have been the victim of a criminal act within the City Limits of Gaffney, South Carolina should contact the Gaffney Police Department and complete an incident report. The Court hears requests for courtesy summons Monday through Friday at 8:30am in the City of Gaffney Municipal Court Room. Please take a copy of your incident report with you into the Court Room. A copy can be obtained from the Gaffney Police Department which is also located in the first floor of Gaffney City Hall. If the Judge determines that a courtesy summons should be issued, the summons will be served on the subject suspected of committing the criminal act. You will be notified once the summons has been served and given a date to appear before the Judge and the person you suspect of committing the criminal act.
If you have been issued a summons or a traffic citation to appear before the Court, the Judge will ask you to enter a plea. The acceptable pleas are: Guilty, Not Guilty and No Contest. If you enter a Not Guilty plea, you will be asked if you want a jury trial or a bench trial. Bench trials are heard by the Judge and jury trials are heard by six of your peers. A no contest plea is treated the same as a guilty plea in criminal court, but may have advantages if you feel the case may also be tried in Civil Court. A no contest plea simply means that you do not wish to admit guilt but believe that the City (Police Officer) has enough evidence that you will be found guilty if you went to trial. Please come prepared to pay your fine on your court date. The fine amount is normally written on your citation by the Police Officer. If the fine amount is not on your ticket or summons, please contact the Court prior to your court date so that you can be prepared to pay your fine if you should be found guilty of committing the offense with which you were charged. Currently the Court accepts cash and credit card payments only.
The City Judge sets bonds for those arrested within the City of Gaffney. These bond hearing are normally held at the Cherokee County Detention Center located at 315 East Dr. L. M. Rosemond Blvd. Bond hearings are held at 8:30am and 5:00pm on Monday through Friday. On weekends, bond hearings are held Saturday at 10:00am and 5:00pm and Sunday at 8:00am and 5:00pm. On some occasions, these hearings may be heard in the City of Gaffney Municipal Court Room to accommodate members of the public and press.
If you have any questions, please contact the Clerk of Court at (864) 487-8524.
Wade S. Weatherford, III
Municipal Court Judge