The judicial system in Grand Bassa County is composed of a circuit court (the Second Judicial Circuit Court), a traffic court, a debt court, a probate court, a labor court and six magisterial courts: Owensgrove MC, St. John MC, LIBINC Palm Bay MC, LAC MC, Edina MC, and Buchanan MC. Each magisterial court should have one stipendiary magistrate and two associate magistrates, but this rule is only respected in Buchanan MC, while in the other magisterial courts one associate magistrate is generally missing. There are three city solicitors: one in Buchanan MC, one in LIBINC Palm Bay MC and one in LAC MC, and one defense counsel.

The County judicial system, according to the NRC Needs Assessment Report, January 2007 records the presence of justice of the peace courts in the County. There are four justices of the peace (JPs) in District # 1, eight JPs in District # 3 and three JPs in District # 4. Therefore there are fifteen JPs in the entire County. However the JPs have yet to receive a letter of appointment from the Executive to qualify them as JPs.

They are currently active but operating illegally until the letter of appointment is received and the due qualifications are provided by the JPs. Both the Buchanan Magisterial Court and the Circuit Court occupy the premises of the County Administrative Building following the rehabilitation work on the building funded by USAID. The Circuit Court is holding session in the Telephone Building opposite the County Administrative Building. Renovation work is ongoing at the Circuit Court Building in Upper Buchanan by UNHCR.

The Circuit Court did not hear any jury (criminal) trials during the August Term of Court, due to lack of space. This situation added to the burden on Buchanan Central Prison of pre-trial detainees waiting for trial. This also contributed to the slow pace and over-congestion of cases tried in the Circuit Court. This has hampered the dispensation of justice as many of these cases, including charges such as murder and rape, will be dismissed on the basis of a wrongfully long pre-trial detention.