Screening and Charging Division

The Screening & Charging Division of the District Attorney’s Office is the entry-point for the vast majority of cases that come to Superior Court. Once it is determined that a criminal case warrants further investigation by the District Attorney’s Office, the first point of contact is with Screening & Charging. Under the supervision of a deputy district attorney, the division is comprised of attorneys, investigators, and support staff who

are responsible for screening cases to assess if prosecution is warranted; determining the charges (whether by indictment or accusation); and determining what further information is needed to successfully prosecute the case.

The division subsequently presents bills of indictment to the Grand Jury, files accusations, handles requests for direct indictments, processes all NPGJs (cases not presented to the Grand Jury) and transfers, represents the State in pre-indictment bond hearings, and trains many of the Office’s new attorneys.

As the Office’s Complaint Room system of front-end case screening develops and incorporates more and more of the County’s many municipalities and Atlanta’s police units, the division’s function will merge with this system and its traditional role in the process will be transformed, a process that has already begun.