Which georgia courts have appellate level jurisdiction




















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. In a few counties the chief magistrate is appointed by the local legislative delegation. To qualify as a magistrate, an individual must have resided in the county for at least one year preceding his or her term of office, be 25 years old, and have a high school diploma.

Other qualifications may be imposed by local legislation. There are chief magistrates and magistrates in Georgia. Magistrates may grant bail in cases in which the setting of bail is not exclusively reserved to a judge of another court.

If a defendant submits a written request for a jury trial, cases may be removed to superior or state court. Courts Under the Constitution of Georgia, the judicial power of the state is vested in seven levels or classes of courts. State Courts In 70 counties in Georgia, state courts exercise jurisdiction over misdemeanor violations, including traffic cases, and adjudicate civil actions except in cases in which the superior court has exclusive jurisdiction.

His successor as Chief Judge, Jule W. Felton , had the longest tenure of service as a Judge on the Court, a total of 32 years and eight months three months longer than Broyles' total tenure. Felton came to this bench in and was named Chief Judge in , occupying that position until John Sammons Bell was elected Chief Judge by his colleagues on September 5, , after 10 years of service as Judge and Presiding Judge, and served 10 more years in this position.

Readers who desire to know details concerning the deceased Judges are referred to the index of memorials of Georgia's appellate judges through , which may be found in Georgia XXVII. Tributes to retired Judges, found in Georgia Appeals et seq.

Confirmation that each served well is provided by the fact that never, during the entire existence of the Court, has a judgment been affirmed by operation of law because of failure to render a decision by the end of the term next after that at which a case was docketed. Court portraits and photographs of present and past members of the Court of Appeals now hang in the banc room and courtroom. There have been only six persons who have served as Clerk of Court.

He served from January 1, , until his death in 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. Among proposals mentioned in this paper were limitation of oral arguments, disposition of cases by a written synopsis of the points decided, reduction of the number of written opinions, addition of Justices and divisions, and restriction of jurisdiction by monetary amount or subject matter.

Justice Cobb observed that "[s]ome favor an intermediate appellate court, from which a writ of error to the Supreme Court will lie only in certain cases.

Judge Barrow again submitted his bill to create district courts of appeal from the trial courts of the respective districts, but limited to three districts rather than five.

Beck from the Sixth District. Adams of Savannah later served in as an interim appointee on the Supreme Court bench. Powell became one of the first three Judges of the Court of Appeals. Smith was later Governor and United States Senator. Beck subsequently served on the Supreme Court for 32 years. 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. Built using WordPress and the Mesmerize Theme. Georgia Judicial System Structure. Trial courts are where most Georgians come into contact with the judicial system. Georgia Juvenile Courts Handle cases involving children under the age of Georgia Probate Courts Have original jurisdiction over cases involving wills, estates and appointment of guardians.

Georgia Municipal Courts The jurisdiction of municipal courts varies throughout the state. You can see how they split up in the map below Source: 8th Judicial District. Source: Ballotpedia. Like Us ReformGeorgia. Close Font Resize. Keyboard navigation. Choose color black white green blue red orange yellow navi.



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