Judiciary of Georgia (U.S. state)

The Judiciary of Georgia is a branch of the government of the State of Georgia established in Article Six of the Georgia constitution.^[1] This Article contains ten Sections which discuss the different courts, their powers and jurisdictions, and the role of the district attorney in Georgia's justice system.^[2]

Courts

Further information: Courts of Georgia

The structure of the state judiciary is as follows:

Outline map of Georgia judicial districts and circuits.

• Supreme Court of Georgia^[3]
  • Georgia Court of Appeals^[4]
    • Georgia Superior Courts (49 judicial circuits)^[5]
      • Georgia State Courts^[6]
        • Georgia Magistrate Courts^[7]
        • Georgia Juvenile Courts^[8]
        • Georgia Probate Courts^[9]
        • Georgia Municipal Courts^[10]

The highest judiciary power in Georgia is the Supreme Court, which is composed of nine justices.^[11] The state also has a Court of Appeals made of 15 judges.^[11] Georgia is divided into 49 judicial circuits, each of which has a Superior Court consisting of local citizens numbering between two and 19 members depending on the circuit population. Under the 1983 Constitution, Georgia also has magistrate courts, probate courts, juvenile courts, state courts; the General Assembly may also authorize municipal courts.^[12] Other courts, including county recorder's courts, civil courts and other agencies in existence on June 30, 1983, may continue with the same jurisdiction until otherwise provided by law.^[12]

Each county in Georgia has at least one superior court, magistrate court, probate court, and where needed a state court and a juvenile court; in the absence of a state court or a juvenile court, the superior court exercises that jurisdiction.^[12]

Officers

Judges

All serving judges are elected by popular vote either from the entire state in the cases of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals or from a given circuit in the case of Superior Courts. Judges of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals serve for terms of six years. Judges of other courts serve for terms of four years.

See also

• Government of Georgia (U.S. state)
• Law of Georgia (U.S. state)
• Law enforcement in Georgia (U.S. state)

References

1. Gerber, Scott D. (2009). "The Origins of the Georgia Judiciary". Georgia Historical Quarterly. 93 (1): 55–76. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
2. Georgia Constitution: Article VI Archived 2008-03-21 at the Wayback Machine, Accessed June 28, 2008
3. "The Supreme Court of Georgia :: gasupreme.us :: Home". Gasupreme.us. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
4. "Court of Appeals of Georgia: 47 Trinity Ave., Suite 501, Atlanta, GA 30334". Gaappeals.us. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
5. "Judicial Branch of Georgia :: Superior Courts". Georgiacourts.org. Archived from the original on January 22, 2009. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
6. "Judicial Branch of Georgia :: State Courts". Georgiacourts.org. Archived from the original on January 22, 2009. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
7. "Judicial Branch of Georgia :: Magistrate Courts". Georgiacourts.org. Archived from the original on February 1, 2009. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
8. "Judicial Branch of Georgia :: Juvenile Courts". Georgiacourts.org. Archived from the original on August 25, 2008. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
9. "Judicial Branch of Georgia :: Probate Courts". Georgiacourts.org. Archived from the original on January 26, 2009. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
10. "Welcome to the Homepage of the Judicial Branch of Georgia". Georgiacourts.org. Archived from the original on December 9, 2008. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
11. "Nathan Deal stocks Georgia's top courts with 5 new judges | Political Insider blog". Retrieved February 24, 2017.
12. State Judicial System Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine from the website of the Supreme Court of Georgia