Chatham County Court Case Search System
Portal User Guide
Contents
What is Portal?................................................................................................................. 2
Section 1: Accessing Portal……………………………………………………………………2
Section 2: Portal Registration and Access Request…………………………………………2
Section 3: Searching for Court Records………………………………………………………5
Search 4: Advanced Search Options…………………………………………………………8
Section 5: Hearings Search…………………………………………………………………..10
Section 6: Viewing Public Documents – Registered Users Only………………………….12
1
What is Portal?
In July 2017, the Chatham County Courts went live with a new case management system,
known as Odyssey. Portal is a web based application used to view Odyssey court records
and documents. Please refer to the Portal FAQ for details. Portal offers:
Court records filed in Superior, State, Magistrate, Probate and Recorders Courts
as well as documents (for purchase) filed in Superior, State, Magistrate and
Recorders Courts using Odyssey’s case management system
Registered and anonymous (public) access roles customized to judicial partners
and public access
Registered users can request access to court documents for purchasing
Anonymous (public) users online access to public court records
Note: Access to court records is defined by federal law, state law, court rule, court order
and/or case law.
For questions about Portal please contact Portal Administrator:
[email protected]Section 1: Accessing Portal
Registered access to Portal is authorized and assigned through Clerks’ offices.
Document purchase fees are determined by each Court.
Any person may access public court records in the Superior, State, Magistrate and
Probate Courts Clerks’ offices in the Courthouse.
To access Portal:
1. Visit www.chathamcourts.org or www.cmsportal.chathamcounty.org
Section 2: Portal Registration
Registration instructions are outlined below. If you have questions about the registration
process, please send them to: [email protected]
1. Visit the Portal website, www.cmsportal.chathamcounty.org
2. Select the Register/Sign In option in the upper right hand corner
2
3. Complete the registration process
a. Fill in the required fields and click Complete Registration. Passwords
must be at least 8 characters including at least 1 special character, 1 capital
letter, and 1 number.
b. Security questions cannot be changed. Write down the answers. The
inability to answer will result in the account becoming invalid. A new email
will need to be registered.
c. Once the registration process has been completed, a verification email will
be sent to the email address provided.
4. Access Request – a user can request access to documents, request access as an
attorney (as long as they are a licensed attorney with the State of Georgia) or
request access as a probation provider (as long as they are a State of Georgia
probation provider).
3
a. At the initial login the system will display the Request Access menu
At any time after the initial login a user may request the additional features
access by selecting the Request Access in the upper right hand corner of
the home screen under their account information.
b. A notice is sent to the Portal Administrator to approve the request. Once
the request is approved an email will notify the user the request has been
approved.
5. Resetting Password
a. From the Portal home page, click Sign In (top right).
b. Once the Sign In box appears, click Forgot Password.
4
From the Reset Password Request page, enter your e-mail address
as the username, enter the CAPTCHA characters, click Next.
Section 3: Searching for Court Records
Use Smart Search to find court records or persons associated with a court record.
Use Search Hearings to find a specific hearing.
The General Filtering Options window provides two additional filter types to narrow
Portal search results.
1. The Filter by Location narrows results by Court.
2. The Filter by Search Type broadens or specifies search criteria beyond a case
number or name.
5
NOTE: Anonymous Access Smart Search requires the user to complete a
CAPTCHA screen before search results are returned. CAPTCHA screens are not
required for Registered Users.
The Wildcard feature allows you to search for incomplete names and case numbers in
the system. To use the Wildcard feature, type a portion of a name or case number, and
then type an asterisk (*) at the end. For example, searching a partial last name of “Smi*”
yields results such as “Smith” and “Smithson”.
NOTE: There is a minimum of one character in a first name, three characters in a last
name, and four characters in a case number to use the Wildcard feature. When looking
for a name which contains a space, hyphen (-), or other separator you might need to
conduct more than one search. For instance, if you are searching for the last name of
Smith, but are unsure of the spelling, you should search twice – once with Smith and
another with Smyth. Same for similar separator situations.
Smart Search
1. In Smart Search, type a case number or a party name.
a. Party names must be in Last, First sequence
b. For advanced filtering options, click Advanced Filtering Options for more
information
c. For help information regarding searches, click the ? icon
2. Click Submit.
3. In the search results, click a case number to view the court record.
6
4. If a name is found, the name will be displayed in the Search Results Window.
5. To view the case numbers, click the dropdown (carrot) to the left of the party name,
cases associated with the name or party will appear. Click “Cases” to display list
of associated case numbers.
6. To see specific case details, click case number link.
7
7. Case Information display.
Section 4: Advanced Search Options
The Portal includes Advanced Filtering Options at the bottom of the Smart Search
window.
Smart Search allows users to refiner their search parameters through Advanced
Filtering Options. Providing more information through Advanced Filtering Options will
narrow your search results.
1. Select Advanced Filtering Options. The page will expand with additional menus.
To access a specific filtering option, click on the menu to the right or scroll to the
desired menu.
2. General Filtering Options include:
a. Court location
b. Search Type
i. Smart Search
ii. Attorney Bar Number
iii. Attorney Name
iv. Business Name
v. Case Cross-Reference Number
vi. Case Number
vii. Citation Number
viii. Judicial Officer
ix. Nickname
x. Party Name
8
c. Cases
d. Judgments
3. The Party Search Criteria quick link takes user to the ‘Additional Party Search
Filters’ window. These filters narrow search results using various personal
identifiers.
9
4. The Case Search Criteria quick link takes user to the ‘Search Cases’ window,
these filters narrow search results using case specific information.
5. The Judgment Search Criteria quick link takes user to the ‘Search Judgments’
window, these filters narrow search results using judgment specific information.
Section 5: Hearings Search
1. Use the drop-down boxes and specify a date range to narrow the criteria.
a. Select the Location that you want to search or choose to search all
locations.
b. Select the Hearing Type for a specific hearing type or you may search for
all hearing types.
10
c. Select the Search Type to choose how you would like to search. The
Search Criteria field will change depending on your selection.
2. Soundex – The Soundex feature allows you to search for proper names, including
business names that sound similar. To use the Soundex feature, select the
“Sounds Like” check box when entering the search information. For example, if
you are unsure of the spelling of the last name, enter the first name and as much
as you know to be correct of the last name.
NOTE: You cannot use the Wildcard feature and the Soundex feature at the same
time. Names are not case sensitive. You can enter first, middle and last names
in uppercase, lowercase or a combination of both. The search results are the
same.
11
3. Search results may be filtered or rearranged by click on the drop-down arrows.
The calendar icon will allow you to toggle back and forth between a calendar view and a
list view of the hearings.
Returns to calendar view.
Section 6: Viewing Public Documents
Registered Users with access to public documents through Portal can see the first page
of documents by clicking ‘Documents’ on the right side navigation menu. If a user would
like to view the entire document, then the document must be purchased.
12
1. A list of public documents associated with the case can be seen in the Documents
window.
2. Click on View Document to display the “.tif” file.
3. If a document is associated with an Event or Hearing on a case it will be displayed
under the Events and Hearings window as well.
13
