THE COURTS OF GEORGIA AN OVERVIEW

The state of Georgia is a sovereign entity as outlined by the Constitution of the United States of America and is one of the original thirteen colonies/states. It is governed by a form of democracy. The United States of America is a federal republic. It is a representative form of government, reminiscent of the old Roman senate. The Constitution of the United States is the document embodying the fundamental principles upon which the American republic is conducted. It established the system of federal government that governs our nation.

The Constitution of the United States of America is the ultimate and supreme law of the United States of America. The first ten ammendments to the U.S. Constitution are referred to as the Bill of Rights. The U.S. Constitution is the framework for the organization of the United States government, its underlying infrastructure and for the relationship of the federal government to the states, to citizens, and to all people within the United States. The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people themselves. There are many that fail to understand this simple principle.

The courts of Georgia have jurisdiction over specific types of cases as set by the Constitution of the State of Georgia. Courts of limited jurisdiction; the magistrate, probate, juvenile and state courts, hear the traffic, criminal misdemeanor and civil cases involving limited amounts of money and limited writs of execution. The Constitution of the State of Georgia establishes the state court of appeals and the Supreme Court of the State of Georgia.

Many of the cities and towns of this state establish municipal courts to handle traffic offenses; violations of local ordinances, conduct preliminary hearings, and in many cases adjudicate misdemeanor shoplifting and marijuana possession cases. Any cases heard by the Municipal Courts that are not adjudicated, are normally referred onward to the higher courts for adjudication, these higher courts being the state and superior courts of Georgia. Municipal court judges are usually appointed by the mayor or in certain cases may be elected.

Municipal Court judges may adjudicate most misdemeanors without transference to the State Court. This is usually dependent on how the city charter is drawn up. Under circumstances where the defendant demands a jury trial, the case must be transferred to State Court.

Magistrate courts issue arrest warrants, search warrants, conduct motion hearings, adjudicate trover actions, issue dispossessory actions, conduct preliminary/committal hearings, hear county ordinance violations, landlord/tenant disputes, bad checks cases and civil actions of $15,000 or less.

State courts are established by local legislation introduced in the Georgia General Assembly. State court judges are elected to four-year terms and are non-partisan positions. Vacancies in the state court may be filled by appointment by the governor or if the governor so elects, by special election.

Superior Court jurisdiction extends to felony offenses, misdemeanor cases arising from the felony incidents, family law, divorce cases, landline disputes and civil cases involving corporations. Superior Court judgeships are elected non-partisan positions with terms of four years.

Superior court judges are Constitutional Officers and preside over all felony trials. They have exclusive jurisdiction over divorces and may correct any errors made by limited jurisdiction courts, while exercising jurisdiction over both civil and criminal cases. Vacancies in the superior court may be filled by appointment by the governor or if the governor so elects, by special election.

The filling of these vacancies is subject to change by way of legislation. The appellate courts of Georgia review cases that have been tried in the courts of limited jurisdiction and the superior courts to determine that there were no procedural errors or errors of law. If no errors are found the verdict is upheld. In the case where errors are found, the appellate court may elect to overturn and set aside the decision. The verdict may be reversed or it can be returned to the lower court to be retried. The appellate court consists of twelve judges on four panels of three judges each.

Magistrate courts are not courts of record, not normally having court reporters. Magistrate court cases, where the decisions are contested, are normally appealed to the state or superior courts of the county where the magistrate court is located. Superior courts and state courts are both courts of record. If the appellant is dissatisfied with the decision of an appeal to a state court, it may then be appealed on up to the superior court of the county.

The majority of citizens that have business with the courts are usually involved in matters governed by the courts of limited jurisdiction. These are the Magistrate Courts and Municipal Courts of our state, sometimes referred to as 'small claims court' for the civil litigation of lesser amounts. Only a very small percentage of the cases disposed of by the trial courts are appealed to a higher court.

The management of the day-to-day operations of the courts in today's world requires the expertise of a highly professional court administrator and a competent staff of clerks, secretaries and assistants. They have assumed the duties that formerly were handled by executive secretary/office manager of the senior superior court judge. The Administrative Offices of the Courts oversee the appointment of and the operations of the court administrators.

The staff of the Administrative Offices of the Courts oversees the continuing education and training of these judicial officials. These court administrators are diligent in their attempt to coordinate the functions of the court clerks, prosecutors, public defenders, court reporters, courthouse security and use of substitute judges and the trial calendars of sitting judges.

The Judicial Council of Georgia, consisting of twenty-four member judges, guides and controls the Administrative Offices of the Courts. The Council meets a minimum of three times a year to consider new judgeships, budgets and other judicial branch matters.

DUE PROCESS

(Rights to certain legal proceedings)

OBTAINING A JUDGMENT IN A MAGISTRATE COURT

MAGISTRATE COURTS OF GEORGIA

The Magistrate Court is a court of limited jurisdiction, with both civil and criminal jurisdiction and normally not considered to be a court of record. This limited jurisdiction is controlled by the amount of jurisdiction and control extended by the Superior and State Courts. This limited jurisdiction is being expanded upon almost constantly.

Magistrate courts cannot try individuals charged with a felony or with certain misdemeanor offenses. The Magistrate Court does not have jurisdiction over restraining orders, divorce cases; child custody, child visitation and support cases; cases involving real estate, mental incompetence commitments and equity actions, which involve the rights of parties and seek to direct a person to perform a certain act or to refrain from doing an act. These are all reserved for the Superior Courts.

Magistrate courts issue arrest warrants, search warrants, perform...