Your guide to the Georgia courts [2006]

Administrative Office of the Courts 244 Washington Street, Suite 300
Atlanta, GA 30334

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MAGISTRATE COURT
159 courts, 159 chief magistrates; 354 magistrates.
Jurisdiction (limited): Search and arrest warrants,
felony and misdemeanor preliminaries, misdemeanor bad check violations, county ordinances. Civil claims of $15,000 or less, dispossessories, distress warrants. No jury trials.

PROBATE COURT
I 59 courts, I59 judges.
jurisdiction (limited): Exclusive jurisdiction in pro-
bate of wiHs, administration of estates, appointment of guardians, involuntary hospitalizations, marriage licenses. Traffic in some counties. Truancy in some counties. Hold courts of inquiry. Search warrants and arrest warrants in certain cases. Some misdemeanors.
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JUVENILE COURT
I59 courts, 120 judges and associate judges.
jurisdiction (limited):
Deprived, unruly, delinquent juveniles.
Juvenile traffic. No jury trials

STATE COURT
71 courts, I IO judges.
jurisdiction (limited)
Civil law actions except cases within the exclusive jurisdiction of superior court.
Misdemeanors, traffic, felony preliminaries.
Jury trials.

SUPERIO COURT

49 circuits, 193 judges.

jurisdiction (general):

Civil law actions, misdemeanors, and ocher

cases.

Exclusive jurisdiction over cases of divorce,

title to land, equity.

Exclusive felony jurisdiction.

jury trials.

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Counties with population over 96,000 where probate judge is attorney practicing at least seven years. Jury trials.

COURT OF APPEALS
12 judges (4 divisions). jurisdiction: Appellate jurisdiction over trial courts in cases in which Supreme Court has no exclusive appellate jurisdiction.
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SUPREME COURT
7 justices. jurisdiction: Appellate jurisdiction over cases of constitu-
tional issue, title to land, validity of and construction of wills, habeas corpus, extraordinary remedies, convictions of capital felonies, equity, divorce, alimony, election contest. Certified questions and certiorari from Court of Appeals.
As of January 2006.

Capital felonies. Constitutional issues. Tide to land. Wills, eqwty, and divorce.

The Georgia court system has five classes oftrial-level courts: the magistrate, probate, juvenile, state, and superior courts. In addition, there are approximately 350 municipal courts operating locally. There are two appellate-level courts: the Supreme Court and Court ofAppeals.

Magistrate Court
Magistrate courts are county courts that issue warrants, hear minor criminal offenses and civil claims involving amounts of$ l 5,000 or less. A chief magistrate is either elected or appointed in each county as determined by local legislation; other magistrates may be appointed by the chief magistrate.
Magistrate court is the court of first resort
for many civil disputes including: county ordinance violations, dispossessories, landlord/tenant cases, and bad checks. In criminal matters magistrates hold preliminary hearings; issue search warrants to law enforcement and also
warrants for the arrest of a particular person. In
some criminal matters magistrates are authorized to set bail for defendants.
No jury trials are held in magistrate coun; civil cases are often argued by the parties themselves, rather than by attorneys.
Probate Court
Original jurisdiction in the probate ofwills and administration of decedents' estates is designated to the probate court of. ciCOUnty. Probate judges are also authorized to order involuntary hospitalization of an incapacitated adult or other individual and to appoint a legal guardian to handle the affairs of certain specified individuals. Probate courts issue marriage
licenses and licenses to carry firearms.
In counties where no state coun exists, probate judges may hear traffic violations, certain misdemeanors, and citations involving the state game and fish laws. Many probate judges are authorized to serve as the county elections supervisor; they also administer oaths of office and make appointments to certain local public offices. In counties where the total population exceeds 96,000, the probate judge must be a licensed attorney who has practiced law for seven years.
juvenile Court
Juvenile courts handle all cases involving deprived and neglected children under 18 years of age; delinquent and unruly offenses committed by children under 17 years of age; and traffic violations committed by juveniles. The juvenile courts also hear cases involving consent to marriage for minors, enlistment of minors in the military, and procedures for return of a runaway child resident who is taken into custody in another state.
Juvenile courts have concurrent jurisdiction with superior courts in child custody and child support matters arising from divorces cases, and in proceedings to terminate parental rights. Original jurisdiction over juveniles who commit certain serious violent felonies resides in the superior courts.
Juvenile court judges are appointed by agreement of the superior court judges of the circuit to four-year terms of office.

Stllte Court
State courts exercise limited jurisdiction within one county. These judges hear misdemeanors including traffic violations, issue search and arrest warrants, hold preliminary hearings in criminal cases and try civil matters not reserved exclusively for the superior courts. A state court is established by local legislation introduced in the General Assembly.
State court judges are elected to four-year terms in county-wide nonpartisan elections. Vacancies in state court may be filled by appointment of the Governor.
Municipal Court
Cities and towns in Georgia establish municipal courts to handle traffic offenses, local ordinance violations, conduct preliminary hearings, issue warrants, and in some instances hear misdemeanor shoplifting and possession of marijuana cases. Municipal court judges are often appointed by the mayor, some are elected. There are"'more than 350 municipal courts
opcratingui,Geoip.
Superior Court
The superior court exercises both civil and criminal jurisdiction. Superior court judges preside over all felony trials, have exclusive jurisdiction over divorces and may correct errors made by limited jurisdiction courts. The forty-nine superior court circuits in Georgia are made up of one or more counties; each circuit has a chiefsuperior coun judge and a number of other judges as authorized by the General Assembly.
Superior coun judges arc constitutional officers who are elected to four-year terms in circuit-wide nonpartisan elections. Vacancies that occur in superior coun may be filled by appointment of the Governor. A candidate for superior court judge must be at least 30 years of age, a lawyer who has practiced for seven years, and a resident of the state for three years.
Jury Service
Jury trials are a hallmark of the American legal system. Each day around the state, our trial courts require hundreds of ordinary citizens to report to the courthouse for jury duty. Both a right and responsibility, service as a juror places the individual citizen in a central role in the justice system.

Court ofAppeals ofGeorgia
The Court of Appeals is the coun of first review for many civil and criminal cases heard by the trial courts. The purpose of such a review is to correct legal errors or errors of law made at the trial level, not to alter jury verdicts or the outcome of bench trials.
The Court of Appeals has twelve judges who
are assigned to one of four panels made up of three judges each. Once a case is assigned to a panel, the judges review the trial transcript, relevant portions of the record, and briefs submit-
ted by the attorneys for the parties. Panels also
hear oral arguments in a small number ofcases.
Panel decisions arc final unless one judge dissents. If necessary, a case may be reviewed by a
larger number ofjudges of the Court of Appeals for decision.
Supreme Court ofGeorgia
Supreme: rt, the state's highest
court, reviews decisions made in civil and criminal cases by a trial oourt judge or by the Coun ofAppeals. This court also rules on questions involving the constitutionality of state statutes and all criminal cases involving a sentence of death. No trials arc held at the appellate level,
nor do the parties appear before the coun. If
attorneys present oral arguments, these arc heard by the entire coun.
Each case accepted for review by the Supreme Court is assigned to one of the seven
justices for preparation of a preliminary opinion (decision) fur circulation to all other justices. The justices review trial transcripts, case
records and the accompanying legal briefs prepared by attorneys. An opinion is adopted or rejected by the Coun after thorough discussion by all the justices in conference.
The ChiefJustice and the Presiding Justice serve as officers of the court for two-year terms. The ChiefJustice presides at official sessions of
the Supreme Coun and conferences of the justices. The Supreme Court is assigned oversight
of the legal profession and the judiciary as well as other designated duties.
Court Funding
At the appellate level, salaries and operating expenses arc paid from state revenues. Funding for the superior and juvenile courts is shared by state and county funding sources. Limited jurisdiction courts are funded solely by city or county governments.