Court Administration

The Court Director oversees the daily operations of multiple court divisions: Clerk's Office, Family Drug Court, Juvenile Drug Court, Dependency (includes custody investigations), Judicial Citizen Review Panels, and Programs Administration. The Court Director oversees managing agency level functions, such as personnel and financial management functions of the court. More specifically, the Director oversees:

  • Accounting & Finance: The development and management of the Court's annual budget, in addition to tracking revenues and expenditures throughout the fiscal year.
  • Communication & Public Outreach: Responsible for all initial interactions with the public, members of the press/media, and inter-agency and intergovernmental communication.
  • Court & Family Services: This division manages Accountability Court Programs (Juvenile and Family Drug Court), Child in Need of Services (CHINS) cases, the Citizen Review Panels, and Custody Investigations.
  • Grants Procurement & Management: Responsible for identifying grant opportunities, applying for grants and managing awarded grant funds. The Court aggressively pursues grant funding opportunities in an effort to bolster its services to children and families while lessening these programs’ dependency on general fund (tax-payer) dollars.
  • Human Resources: The management of the Court's employees, organizational structure, personnel transactions, and personnel development. As the Court Director, Ms. Cannon leads the executive management team responsible for 15 personnel, in addition to interns and volunteers
  • Information Technology: The procurement, distribution and management of the Court's technology-related resources, including computers, laptops, internet protocol telephones, mobile devices, courtroom recording equipment, assistive listening devices, and the Juvenile Court Activity Tracking System (JCATS).
  • Office of the Clerk of Court: Responsible for maintaining the official records of the Court in accordance with existing state and local statute

Juvenile Court Director, Samantha Cannon, has worked in Muscogee County Courts since 2006. Prior to joining Juvenile Court, Mrs. Cannon served as the Director of the Board of Equalization in the Clerk of Superior Court, and previously worked for 9 years in Superior Court, first in the District Attorney's Office for 3 years, then in the Office of the Clerk of Superior Court for 6 years.

Juvenile Court Assistant Director, Gail Dykes, has worked in Juvenile Court since 2012. Prior to joining Juvenile Court, Gail worked as the Office Manager for Judge Warner Kennon's private law practice.