Georgia · Cherokee County · Courts · Closure

Cherokee County Justice Center Closed Until Further Notice in Canton, GA: Judicial Emergency Moves Courts to 94 North Street and the Historic Courthouse Through Aug. 28

The Frank C. Mills III Justice Center in downtown Canton is closed until further notice after a hazardous materials incident contaminated the building, and Cherokee County’s Superior, State, Juvenile, Probate and Magistrate courts are running under a declared judicial emergency through Friday, Aug. 28. Two interrupted jury trials resume on the same street, most in-person clerk business moves to Woodstock, and court deadlines are tolled.

By Kate Thompson Published Aug. 24, 2026, 11:09 p.m. ET 9 min read Courthouse closed · judicial emergency · deadlines tolled

What happened at the Cherokee County courthouse?

The Frank C. Mills III Justice Center in downtown Canton is closed until further notice, and every court that sits in it is operating under a declared judicial emergency.

It came in an order titled “Order Closing Courthouse, Declaration of Judicial Emergency and Creation of Alternate Court Locations,” signed by Chief Judge David L. Cannon Jr. of the Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit.

It was filed with the Cherokee County Clerk of Superior Court at 8:50 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026, and recorded by clerk Patty Baker as file number 28-2026-000152, in Superior Book 202 at pages 2173 to 2175.

What set it in motion was a hazardous materials incident at the Justice Center at about 1:20 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 21, 2026, which the order says contaminated the entire courthouse.

The building has not been cleared for use and the reopening timeline is uncertain, the order says, and it calls the condition of the courthouse a health and safety concern for the public and for employees. On that finding, it closes.

The judicial emergency itself runs from Friday, Aug. 21, 2026 through Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, unless a later order lengthens or shortens it.

Court has not stopped. Operations continue on a limited basis as each class of court stands back up a short walk away.

Which Cherokee County courts are under the judicial emergency?

The declaration covers the Superior, State, Juvenile, Probate and Magistrate courts of Cherokee County — every court that sits in the Justice Center.

The court-operations detail traces to the District Attorney’s Office, FOX 5 Atlanta reported.

The Justice Center stands at 90 North Street in Canton. Both buildings now carrying its caseload are on the same street.

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Where is each Cherokee County court meeting now?

The order designates two temporary court facilities.

Remote and temporary-courtroom hearing information is being posted at www.cherokeegacourts.com, the order says. Courts are encouraged to reuse the protocols they built during COVID and to hold hearings by videoconference where that fits, and employees may work remotely where their departments allow.

What is a judicial emergency under Georgia law?

The declaration is made pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 38-3-60 et seq., and the order points specifically to § 38-3-60(2)(D) — the route that turns on a “serious emergency.”

Georgia law reaches a judicial emergency four ways: a Governor’s state of emergency, a public health emergency, a local emergency, or the route used here — a serious emergency that an authorized judicial official determines substantially endangers or infringes the normal functioning of the judicial system, the public’s ability to use it, or litigants’ ability to meet deadlines set by court order, rule, statute or regulation.

That determination is the finding the order makes about the contaminated courthouse. The chief judge also states that the situation raised “serious due process and other constitutional concerns”.

An authorized judicial official, the same section says, includes the chief judge of a superior court judicial circuit — the capacity Cannon is acting in.

What does a judicial emergency do to a court deadline?

This is the part that reaches an ordinary person with something due this week.

Under § 38-3-62, which the order invokes, the chief judge may suspend, toll, extend or otherwise grant relief from deadlines, time schedules and filing requirements set by statute, rule, regulation or court order, across civil, criminal and administrative matters alike.

A deadline that is tolled is one that is not running. Among the clocks the statute names are a statute of limitation, the time to serve a party, the time to complete discovery and the time to appeal.

The order applies that authority to all Cherokee County courts until the emergency ends, unless a further order changes it. Deadlines, it says, are extended or tolled until then.

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How does a Georgia court end up in a different building?

It is not improvisation. Where an emergency makes a courthouse or clerk’s office impossible or impractical to use, § 38-3-61(c) requires the order to name another facility that is reasonably accessible and suited to court business.

So it names buildings instead of going dark, designating the Historic Courthouse at 100 North Street, Canton, GA 30114, and the 94 North Building at 94 North Street, Canton, GA 30114, as temporary court facilities.

For that designation the order also invokes O.C.G.A. § 15-6-18.

Who has to be told that a courthouse is closed?

The notice duties come from § 38-3-63, and the closing section of the order is that statute being carried out.

The sheriff or a designee is directed to post the notice on the doors of the Justice Center and of 94 North St. and 100 North St. Posting at courthouses is one of the methods the statute names for reaching affected parties, their lawyers and the public.

The clerk gives notice the same way the clerk would for any other cancelled court matter.

Notice also travels upward: to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia, to the judges and clerks of all courts in the affected jurisdiction, and to the clerks of the state Supreme Court and Court of Appeals.

What happened to the two jury trials already underway?

Two jury trials had begun on Friday, Aug. 14, 2026, a week before the hazmat call, and both were cut short by the closure.

The order sets Judge Cannon’s trial, which had been in Courtroom 2D, to recommence at 9:30 a.m. in the auditorium of 94 North Street, a building the order describes as the old church.

The order sets the trial before Judge Jennifer Davis, which had been in Courtroom 2A, to recommence at 9:00 a.m. in the Historic Courtroom at 100 North Street.

Juvenile proceedings are running remotely by videoconference, with public access at 94 North Street, according to the Cherokee County courts of the Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit.

Where do filings and clerk business go now?

In Woodstock, the Clerk of Court Annex at 155 Towne Lake Parkway is open for most in-person business.

The order names the clerk’s website, cherokeecourtclerk.com, and the number 770-501-8904 as where what the annex can handle is confirmed.

Where a class of court has online filing, the order directs that filings be made online. For an emergency needing the court’s involvement it supplies two addresses: the court administrator at [email protected], and the sheriff’s office at [email protected].

What contaminated the Justice Center on Aug. 21?

What has been established comes from the Friday response. A smoke alarm brought fire crews to the Justice Center on North Street, and they found no fire — a line in the building’s main air-conditioning system had ruptured, as we reported in our account of the Aug. 21 hazmat response.

The ruptured line left a hazardous film across all three floors. The building was evacuated, hazmat crews stopped the leak, and no injuries were reported.

Three days on, the order records that the courthouse still has not been cleared for use.

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When does the judicial emergency end?

The emergency has a date certain. It runs through Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, and the order says it can be lengthened or shortened by a further order.

There is a ceiling on how far that can go. An initial judicial emergency order in Georgia is limited to 30 days, and may be extended for no more than two further periods of up to 30 days each; an open-ended extension is available only in a public health emergency, which this is not. At seven days, the Cherokee County order sits well inside that cap.

The building sits on a different track. The Justice Center is closed until further notice, with no date attached, so Aug. 28 is the end of the emergency declaration and not a reopening date for the courthouse.

Everything else open in this county sits on our Cherokee County page.

What don’t we know yet?

What are readers asking about the Cherokee County courthouse closure?

Is the Cherokee County courthouse open?
No. The Frank C. Mills III Justice Center in downtown Canton is closed until further notice under an order signed by Chief Judge David L. Cannon Jr., which says the building has not been cleared for use after the hazardous materials incident of Friday, Aug. 21, 2026.

How long does the Cherokee County judicial emergency last?
From Aug. 21, 2026 through Aug. 28, 2026, unless a further order lengthens or shortens it. Under Georgia law an initial order may not exceed 30 days and may be extended for no more than two further periods of up to 30 days each.

Does Aug. 28 mean the courthouse reopens that day?
No. Two separate things are running. The judicial emergency has an end date of Aug. 28, 2026 unless changed by further order. The closure of the Justice Center is until further notice, with no date attached.

Where is court being held in Cherokee County now?
In two temporary facilities in Canton: the Historic Courthouse at 100 North Street and the 94 North Building at 94 North Street. Judge Cannon’s interrupted jury trial is ordered to resume at 9:30 a.m. at 94 North Street; Judge Jennifer Davis’s is ordered to resume at 9:00 a.m. in the Historic Courtroom at 100 North Street. Juvenile proceedings run remotely, with public access at 94 North Street.

What happens to my court deadline during a judicial emergency?
The order says deadlines are extended or tolled until the emergency ends. O.C.G.A. Section 38-3-62 lets the chief judge suspend, toll, extend or grant relief from deadlines and filing requirements in civil, criminal and administrative matters. The clocks it reaches include a statute of limitation, the time to serve a party, discovery and the time to appeal.

Where do I file something or handle clerk business?
The Clerk of Court Annex at 155 Towne Lake Parkway in Woodstock is open for most in-person business. The order names the clerk’s website, cherokeecourtclerk.com, and the number 770-501-8904. Filings go online where that class of court offers online filing.

What is a judicial emergency in Georgia?
A declaration under O.C.G.A. Section 38-3-60 et seq. The Cherokee County order relies on subparagraph (2)(D), a serious emergency that an authorized judicial official determines substantially endangers or infringes the normal functioning of the judicial system, the public’s ability to use it, or litigants’ ability to meet deadlines.

What caused the contamination?
Fire crews called to the Justice Center just after 1:20 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 21, 2026 found no fire but a ruptured line in the main air-conditioning system, which left a hazardous film on all three floors. Officials have not released the specific nature of the material, FOX 5 Atlanta reported.