If you need a certified copy of your Marriage License, please Click Here. The jurisdiction of juvenile courts extends to delinquent children under the age of 17 and deprived children under the age of Juvenile courts have concurrent jurisdiction with superior courts in cases involving capital felonies, custody and child support cases, and proceedings to terminate parental rights.
In addition, the juvenile courts have jurisdiction over minors committing traffic violations and other special consent cases underage persons seeking to serve in the military or obtain a marriage license. The superior court has jurisdiction over juveniles who commit certain violent felonies, including murder, voluntary manslaughter, rape and other sexual offenses, and armed robbery if committed with a firearm. Juvenile court judges are appointed by the superior court judges to serve four-year terms.
Candidates must be at least 30 years old, must have been admitted to the practice of law for five years, and must have lived in Georgia for at least three years. There are full- and part-time juvenile court judges who hear juvenile cases exclusively. Full-time juvenile judges cannot practice law while holding office. Under the Constitution, justice of the peace courts and small claims courts became magistrate courts. The chief magistrate of each county assigns cases, schedules court sessions, and appoints other magistrates with the consent of the superior court judges of the judicial circuit.
Most chief magistrates are elected in partisan, countywide elections to four-year terms. In some counties chief magistrates run in nonpartisan elections. The second, William G. England, served from until his retirement in The third Clerk, Morgan Thomas, was connected with this Court longer than any other person. He served as Deputy Clerk to both predecessors from October 24, , until December , and as Clerk from that date until December 31, He was popularly and accurately designated as "The Court's Ambassador," and a tribute to him is found in Georgia Appeals.
The fourth Clerk, Alton Hawk, served from through The fifth Clerk, and the first and only female Clerk of the Court, was Victoria McLaughlin, who served from until December 31, By January 1, , the Court had recognized the need for a Court Administrator. On that date, William L. Space limitations also make it necessary to omit reference to noteworthy opinions. Suffice it to say that books containing compilations of decisions under such titles as "Wit and Wisdom in Court Opinions" always include reprints from the Court of Appeals of Georgia.
See also former Court of Appeals Judge H. Sol Clark 's "Judicial Humor? An extensive bibliography has been appended to this history to provide source material for those who are interested in further information about the history of this court. All Rights Reserved. It was established in and has fifteen judges who serve in five divisions.
The Court of Appeals has statewide appellate jurisdiction of all cases except those involving constitutional questions, murder, and habeas corpus cases where original appellate jurisdiction lies with the Supreme Court.
The Court of Appeals may certify legal questions to the Supreme Court. Over the last twenty years, statistics show a yearly increase in the number of cases considered by the Court of Appeals peaking in Although the caseload has remained fairly level since , the cases filed per judge in still exceeded the national average for intermediate appellate state courts.
Also, during the s, the Georgia Court of Appeals was, on the basis of the number of cases decided by each judge, one of the busiest appellate courts in the country. Despite this demanding caseload, the Court is noted for its prompt rendition of quality decisions. Over three fourths of the 2, direct appeal decisions issued by the Court of Appeals in were final. As of the date of this publication, 18 of the 56 applications had been decided by the Supreme Court and only 6 were reversed.
Most opinions of the Court of Appeals are reported in full in the Georgia Appeals Reports and the Southeastern Reporter, and are available. Over the past several years, the Court has published an average of 1, opinions per year.
The first sessions of the Court of Appeals were held in a courtroom which was located in the State Capitol building. Initially, the courtroom was used in the afternoons by the Court of Appeals and in the mornings by the Supreme Court Later, this same courtroom continued to be used by both courts, sitting on separate days, until the State Judicial Building was completed in At the dedication proceedings of the present courtroom, reported at 93 Ga.
In , at the suggestion of the first woman judge, Judge Dorothy Toth Beasley , the Court of Appeals revised its motto to read: "Upon the integrity, wisdom and independence of the judiciary depend the sacred rights of free men and women. At one time, the Chief Judge was elected by the Court and served in that capacity at the pleasure of the Court.
Presently, the position of Chief Judge is rotated, usually for a two-year term and upon the basis of seniority of tenure on the Court. By statutory authorization the Chief Judge appoints a Presiding Judge for each of the four divisions.
The Presiding Judges remain as the heads of the divisions for the full two-year term of the Chief Judge. The other Judges are assigned to the panels on an annual basis. The Court instituted this rotation procedure to diffuse the judicial power among the members of the court, to give each Judge the opportunity to serve with every other Judge on the court, and to avoid stereotyping of the judges, divisions, and their opinions. The history of appellate courts in Georgia shows a consistent reluctance to have them at all and, when necessity demands their creation, a consistent determination to keep them as small as possible.
The Supreme Court was not established until , seventy years after Georgia became a state. Until the Supreme Court was established, Georgia was the only American commonwealth having a judicial system without an appellate court. At its creation, the first bench consisted of three Justices elected by the House of Representatives. During the first fifty years, the workload imposed upon the three Justices increased steadily.
The first move by the organized bar to alleviate the caseload on the Supreme Court came at the Bar Association's annual meeting in Atlanta, held at the Cotton States and International Exposition.
This symposium followed a vote by the electorate against a constitutional amendment increasing the number of Justices on the Supreme Court from three to five during the previous October. The first proposal to create a court of appeals was also made during the Bar Association annual meeting. Harrison, then Clerk of the Supreme Court, argued: "Let the Legislature establish a competent intermediate court, a court which will command the confidence and respect of the bar and of the people, and establish it, too, upon such terms as will make its entrance easy so that every litigant and suitor can enter this court upon terms quite as easy as those upon which he can now enter the Supreme Court by writ of error.
The Association also declined to consider the novel idea "to establish the right of trial by another jury. Of particular interest in this report are the presentations of W. Gordon, Jr. These papers described a bill prepared by Superior Court Judge Pope Barrow of Savannah, which would have created five district courts of appeal.
The bench was to be composed of jurists serving in the superior courts and city courts in the district who would be designated to handle the business of these courts of appeal. Atlanta, Athens, Savannah, Columbus and Macon were suggested as the locations where the district courts would hold their sessions. Nothing further was done at this time towards the creation of another court, but in , the Supreme Court was increased to six Justices.
This increase in personnel apparently failed to provide a solution, as five years later, at the Bar Association session held at Warm Springs, there was another symposium on the subject. The discussion was based on a paper delivered by Justice Andrew J. Justice Cobb noted, "The working hours of the Court for hearing argument and consultation have been, since October , from 9 a.
These hours, however, do not represent all of the working hours of the justices. The Court of Appeals was established by a constitutional amendment in Under the Constitution, it is a court of review and exercises jurisdiction over appeals from superior, state, and juvenile courts in all cases not reserved to the Supreme Court of Georgia.
The court is made up of fifteen judges. The chief judge, elected by the members of the court to a two-year term, is responsible for the administration of the court. Cases are heard by panels consisting of three judges. Panel decisions are final unless a judge dissents.
If, after a hearing by the full court, the judges are equally divided on a decision, then the case is transferred to the state supreme court. Court of appeals judges are elected statewide on a nonpartisan basis for six-year terms. Candidates for a judgeship on the court of appeals must have been admitted to practice law for at least seven years before assuming office.
An amendment to the Georgia Constitution of first authorized the supreme court. It functions as a court of review, and it exercises exclusive appellate jurisdiction in cases in which the constitutionality of a law, ordinance, or constitutional provision has been drawn into question, and in all cases of election contest.
It has appellate jurisdiction in. Terms of court begin in January, April, and September. Cases are assigned in rotation to the justices for preparation of opinions and decisions of the whole court. The justices elect the chief justice and a presiding justice to handle administrative matters for the court. The nine justices who serve on the supreme court are elected to six-year terms in statewide, nonpartisan elections.
A candidate for supreme court justice must have been admitted to practice law for at least seven years before assuming office. Approximately local courts are also part of the Georgia court system. Courts of incorporated municipalities try municipal ordinance violations, issue criminal warrants, conduct preliminary hearings, and may have concurrent jurisdiction over shoplifting cases and drug cases involving possession of one ounce or less of marijuana.
Qualifications of judges and terms of office in municipal courts are set by local legislation. The Judicial Council is the state-level judicial agency charged with developing policies for administering and improving the courts.
Twenty-four representatives of the appellate and trial courts make up the council. The chief justice and presiding justice of the supreme court act as the chairperson and vice chairperson, respectively. Completing the roster of council membership are the chief judge and another judge of the court of appeals; the presidents and presidents-elect of the superior, state, juvenile, probate, and magistrate court councils; and the ten superior court district administrative judges.
The AOC serves all classes of courts by generating court statistical information, providing publications of interest to the judiciary, acting as liaison with judicial branch policymaking groups, and coordinating annual judicial branch appropriations requests and other fiscal services.
Appropriations for judicial salaries and operating expenses at the appellate level come from state revenues. State and county finances share funding for the superior courts.
Appellate courts fall above trial courts in the judicial hierarchy and have the authority to consider the ruling of a lower court. They also have the power to overturn that ruling. However, requests to appeal the ruling of a case are not always granted.
When a case is successfully and continuously appealed, it goes first to the Georgia Court of Appeals, then to the Georgia Supreme Court, and then into the federal judicial system. The Georgia Court of Appeals is the first stop for most civil and criminal appeals in the state. There are 12 judges on the court that hear cases in three-judge panels. The Georgia Supreme Court is the court of last resort in the state.
When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals based in downtown Atlanta at the Elbert P. Tuttle Federal Courthouse. Georgia Crisis and Access Line: For anyone in mental health crisis or to find a therapist.
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