Welcome to
Georgia's Court System

Through its roles of interpreting law, administering justice, and regulating disputes, Georgia's Judicial Branch serves the state daily.

E veryday our lives are affected by the business that is conducted throughout the judicial branch. The decisions that are made, both at the trial court and appellate levels, impact the citizens of Georgia.

Y et few citizens are familiar with the basic functions and responsibilities of the state's courts, the
judges who preside in them, and the various professionals who work to ensure the business of the judiciary is fairly and efficiently carried out.

Did You Know?

T here are two levels of court in Georgia: TRIAL COURTS and APPELLATE COURTS. Each court's jurisdiction -- the power to hear and determine a case -- is outlined in the state's constitution.

G eorgia's courts hear both criminal and civil cases. Criminal proceedings are brought against those who are believed to have broken the law; while civil matters involve disputes between individuals or corporations.

Find out more about your court system inside!!

What Do
Municipal Courts Magistrate Courts
Probate Courts Juvenile Courts
State Courts Superior Courts

The
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Courts
Trial Courts

Do?
MUNICIPAL COURTS
Violations of city ordinances Issuance of criminal warrants Prelimary hearings Traffic violations in city limits 400 courts in Georgia cities.

MAGISTRATE COURTS
Small claims ($15,000 or less) Minor criminal offenses County ordinance violations Preliminary hearings Arrest & search warrants Check fraud 159 courts, each county has
a magistrate court

PROBATE COURTS
Wills, administration of estates appointment of guardians, involuntary hospitalizations
Marriage and firearm licensing Traffic in some counties 159 courts, each county
has a probate court

Trial Courts

Different courts are set up to do different things. Georgias courts hear cases based on the subject matter jurisdiction they are given, this may be broad or limited.
MUNICIPAL courts, or city courts, hear cases that involve violations of city ordinances. A small claims case would be heard in the MAGISTRATE court. A person looking to obtain a marriage license would go to the PROBATE court. In many counties, traffic cases are heard by the STATE court. Cases involving children, those under the age of 18, are dealt with in the JUVENILE court. Felony and divorce cases are heard in SUPERIOR court.
Some general jurisdiction trial courts hear appeals from limited jurisdiction courts.

JUVENILE COURTS
Delinquent juveniles under age 17 Deprived, unruly juveniles under
age 18 Juvenile traffic cases 159 courts, each county has a
juvenile court

STATE COURTS
Misdemeanor violations traffic & civil actions
Felony preliminary hearings Review limited jurisdiction
court decisions 71 counties have state courts.

SUPERIOR COURTS
Felonies Divorce proceedings Title to land, equity Juveniles who commit serious
felonies Correct errors from county courts 159 courts, each county has a
superior court.

Why

Georgia's courts of review are set up to correct legal errors or errors of law made at the trial level. No trials are held at the

Appeal? appellate level -- instead, judges review written records and briefs and hear oral arguments from attorneys.

Court of Appeals Supreme Court

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Appellate Courts
The COURT OF APPEALS OF GEORGIA and the SUPREME COURT OF GEORGIA review cases tried in the states limited jurisdiction courts.
The State Judicial Building in Atlanta houses courtrooms for both appellate courts.

Appellate Courts

COURT OF APPEALS
Appellate jurisdiction over lower courts in cases in which Supreme Court has no exclusive appellate jurisdiction
12 judges, 4 panels of 3 judges

SUPREME COURT
Reviews cases involving: Death Penalty Divorce Constitutionality of law Treaties Wills COURT OF LAST RESORT 7 justices

Georgia's Court System

Just like the United States government, Georgia has three branches of government -- Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. "The Third Branch," as the judiciary is often called, is an equal participant in the checks-and-balances system of government.

Each branch of government has its particular

function. The Legislative Branch makes laws.

Judicial Circuits

Dade

Catoosa

Fannin

Lookout Conasauga

Mountain Whitfield Murray Appalachian

Walker

Gilmer

Towns Union
Enotah
White

Lumpkin

Hambersham

Rabun
Mountain
Stephens

The Executive Branch makes sure the laws are being followed. The Judicial Branch interprets the laws.

Judicial Branch

For purposes of administration in the Superior and Juvenile courts, the state of Georgia is divided into 49 Judicial Circuits. Each circuit is made up of at least one county. Some circuits are made up of many counties.
About Your Circuit
Use the state map at right to answers these questions:
I live in the __________ Circuit. There are __________ counties in my Circuit. How many Circuits have only one county? Which Circuit has the most counties?_______

Chattooga

Gordon

Pickens

Dawson
Northeastern

Banks

Franklin

Hart

Rome Cherokee Blue Ridge Bell-

Floyd

Bartow

Cherokee

Forsyth
Forsyth

Fulton

Hall

Jackson
Piedmont

Northern

Madison

Elbert

Wilkes County Courthouse

Executive Branch

Legislative Branch

Tallapoosa

Cobb

Gwinnett Barrow

Clarke Oglethorpe

Lincoln County Courthouse

Clayton RRoockcdalkedale
Montgomery

Polk Haralson

Paulding Cobb
Paulding

Carroll

DDoouuglgaslaAstlanta

Gwinnett

Stone Mtn.
DeKalb

Walton
Alcovy

Clayton

Newton

Fayette

Henry

Western
Oconee

Morgan

Greene

Wilkes

Lincoln

Toombs

Taliaferro Warren

McDuffie

Columbia

Coweta

Flint

Ocmulgee

Jasper

Hancock

Richmond

Heard
Coweta

Spalding
Griffin

Butts

Putnam

Glascock

Augusta

Pike

Lamar Monroe

Baldwin

Jefferson

Burke

Meriwether

Jones

Troup

Towaliga

Washington

Warren County Courthouse
Courthouses

Upson

Bibb

Wilkinson

Harris

Talbot

Crawford
Macon

Chattachoochee

Muscogee

Taylor

Peach

Twiggs
Dublin

Chattahoochee Marion

Macon

HHoouustsotnon Bleckley

Laurens

Johnson

Middle
Emanuel

Jenkins

Screven

Ogeechee

Treutlen

Candler

Bulloch

Effingham

Each of Georgias 159 counties has a courthouse located in the city that serves as its county seat. While many counties have built new facilities in

Stewart

Schley
Sumter
Webster
Southwestern

Dooly

Pulaski

Wilcox
Crisp Cordele

Dodge

Wheeler

Oconee

Telfair

Toombs

Evans

Tattnall

Bryan
Atlantic

Eastern
Chatham

Liberty

recent years, some of the courthouses around the state were built in the 1800s and are still being used.

Why are there Judicial Circuits? Originally judges would "ride the circuit" -- a wide area made up of many counties -- visiting each county seat hearing cases.
How are Circuits Named? Circuit names come from many sources: many are named for a county within the circuit while others are named for rivers or other landmarks. Many have

Randolph County Courthouse

Quitman

Terrell

Lee

Randolph

Clay

Calhoun

Dougherty
Dougherty

Early

Pataula

Baker

Miller

Mitchell

Turner
Tifton
Worth

Ben Hill Irwin

Jeff Davis

Appling
Brunswick

Coffee

Bacon

Wayne

Tift

Colquitt

Berrien

Atkinson

Cook

Alapaha

Pierce
Waycross
Ware

Brantley

Lanier

Seminole

South Georgia

Decatur

Grady

Southern

Thomas

Brooks

Lowndes

Clinch

Charlton

Long McIntosh
Glynn
Camden

Echols

About Your Courthouse
The courthouse for my county is located in: ________________.
It was built in this year: __________.
Its architectural style is: __________.

names derived from Native American place names.

Early County Courthouse

Need help answering these questions? Take a look at the Carl Vinson Institute's Georgia County courthouses webpage: www.cviog.uga.edu/projects/gainfo/courthouses

Who Are
There are approximately 1,300 judges that serve the state of Georgia. From municipal court judges to Supreme Court justices, Georgias judges come from all walks of life. Many of the men and women who serve on the bench are native Georgians. Others have moved here from different states or from other countries. The judges of the State Court of DeKalb County (below) illustrate how diverse Georgias judges are.

Georgia's

Judges?

Judge Janis C. Gordon
Ran a Marathon in Antarctica Speaks English & French

Judge J. Antonio DelCampo
Born in Lima, Peru Enjoys Traveling &
Playing Guitar

Judge Johnny Panos
Speaks English & Greek Born in Atlanta, GA

Judge Barbara J. Mobley
Enjoys Photography Attended Savannah
State University

Judicial Selection

A person can become a judge in one of two ways: APPOINTMENT or ELECTION.

APPOINTMENT -- The Governor may appoint a qualified candidate to fill a vacancy on the appellate courts, superior court, or state court. To remain on the bench, an appointed judge must run for the office in future elections.
ELECTION -- A sitting judge must run for re-election at the end of each term of office. Challengers may run against the incumbent for the seat. If a judge is retiring at the end of a term, the seat is considered "open," and a new judge will be elected from the announced candidates.

Judicial Elections
Most judges in Georgia run for office in elections which are nonpartison, meaning candidates are not affiliated with any political party.
Justices of the Supreme Court and judges of the Court of Appeals are elected to six-year terms. Judges of the Superior, State, Probate, and Magistrate courts serve four-year terms.

Judge Wayne Purdom
Author of Four Law Books Can read Ancient Greek

Chief Judge Edward E. Carriere, Jr.
Grew up in New Orleans, LA Served in the Army

Judge Alvin T. Wong
Born in Hong Kong Speaks English & Chinese

Who Are Your
Judges?

Superior Court: State Court: Juvenile Court:

Probate Court: Magistrate Court: Municipal Court:

What Do Judges Do?

Newly appointed gubernatorial appointees are sworn-in by the Governor.

The judges role in a TRIAL COURT is to review and determine relevance of evidence as it is presented. During a BENCH TRIAL, the judge hears evidence then determines guilt and sentencing.
APPELLATE JUDGES must review materials from cases that have been tried in the trial courts and determine if procedural errors have occurred and if a new trial is warranted.

Who's at the Courthouse?

The complex nature of the state's judicial system requires the expertise of many professionals whose roles are essential for the judiciary to function efficiently and properly. Here are a few of those professionals you are likely to encounter at your county courthouse.

Judge
presides over cases and makes rulings based on evidence presented; renders verdicts in some cases.
Court Administrator
manages the business and daily operations of the court

Attorney
represents the interest of a client in a case.

PROSECUTORS (District Attorney or Solicitor) Acts on behalf of the state in prosecuting those believed
to have broken the law.

PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY Advocates for a person
who brings a case to civil court.

DEFENSE ATTORNEY Advocates for persons accused of committing a crime or respondent in a civil case. Indigent defendants, those with
limited financial resources, may be eligible for a PUBLIC DEFENDER.

Court Clerk
preserves and maintains the records
of the court

Sheriff's Deputy
provides security for courthouse and maintains
order in courtroom.

The Jury
Citizens are sometimes called upon to serve on juries on both criminal and civil trials. The jury's responsibility is to listen to testimony and arguments made by each side in a case. The jury must determine guilt (criminal trial) or liability (civil trial) and pass sentence, if appropriate.
Administrative Office of the Courts 244 Washington Street, SW, Suite 300 Atlanta, GA 30334

Court Reporter
records testimony at trials or in depositions.
Georgia's Court System 2008 David L. Ratley, Director