Courts Case

Courts

Isabel Richmond

Unit 4 LS 500 Legal Method and Process

Professor John Gray

There are four United States District Courts for Northern Georgia, each court has there own Division, Atlanta, Gainesville, Newnan and Rome. The state of Georgia is in the 11th District for the United States Court of Appeals and the United State District Courts along with Alabama and Florida. Federal Courts and other entities outside the Judicial Branch are as follows, Military Courts (trial and appellate), Court of Veterans Appeals, U.S. Tax Court and Federal administrative agencies and boards.

Georgia Courts serve local communities each court serves a different purpose such as civil, criminal, juvenile, and probate cases. There are 377 Municipal Courts in the State of Georgia with 350 active Judges. Courts of incorporated municipalities try municipal ordinance violations, issue criminal warrants, conduct preliminary hearings, and may have concurrent jurisdiction over shoplifting cases and cases involving possession of one ounce or less of marijuana. Judges appointed after July 1, 2011, are required to be attorneys. Those in office prior to that date must meet certain training requirements.

Magistrate Court in Georgia currently has 159 courts, 159 Chief Magistrates and 354 Magistrates. Magistrate Court jurisdiction includes: civil claims of $15,000 or less; certain minor criminal offenses; distress warrants and dispossessory writs; county ordinance violations; deposit account fraud (bad checks); preliminary hearings; and summonses, arrest and search warrants. A chief magistrate, who may be assisted by one or more magistrates, presides over each of Georgia's 159 magistrate courts.

Magistrates may grant bail in cases where the setting of bail is not exclusively reserved to a judge of another court. No jury trials are held in magistrate court. If a defendant submits a written request for a jury trial, cases may be removed to superior or state court.

The chief magistrate of each county assigns cases, sets court sessions, appoints other magistrates (with the consent of the superior court judges) and sets policy for the magistrate court. The number of magistrates in addition to the chief is usually set by majority vote of the county's superior court judges.

Most chief magistrates are elected in partisan, countywide elections to four-year terms. The chief magistrate may be appointed, if so provided by local legislation. Terms for other magistrate judges run concurrently with that of the chief magistrate who appointed them. To qualify as a magistrate, an individual must reside in the county for at least one year preceding his or her term of office, be 25 years of age, and have a high school diploma or its equivalent. A magistrate court judge may also serve as a judge of another limited jurisdiction court in the same county.

Georgia has 159 Probate Courts, 159 Probate Judges and 12 Associate Judges. County Probate Courts exercise exclusive, original jurisdiction in the probate of wills, administration of estates, appointment of guardians and involuntary hospitalization of incapacitated adults and other individuals.

All Probate Court judges administer oaths of office and issue marriage licenses. They may hold habeas corpus hearings or preside over criminal preliminary hearings. Unless a jury trial is requested, probate court judges may also hear certain misdemeanors, traffic cases and violations of state game and fish laws in counties where there is no state court. When authorized by local statute, probate judges serve as election supervisors and make appointments to certain local public offices. In counties with population greater than 96,000, a party to a civil case may request a jury trial in the probate court by a written demand with the first pleading. Appeals from such civil cases may be to the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeals depending on the particular matter.

Most Probate Court judges are elected to four-year terms in countywide, partisan elections. A candidate for judge of the probate court must be at least 25 years of age, a high school graduate, a U.S. citizen and a county resident for at least two years preceding the election. In counties with population over 96,000, a candidate for probate judge must have practiced law for seven years and be at least 30 years of age.

There are 159 Juvenile Courts in the state of Georgia with 120 Judges and Associate Judges. The purpose of our Juvenile Courts is to protect the well-being of children, provide guidance and control conducive to child welfare and the best interests of the state, and secure care for children removed from their homes.

The exclusive, original jurisdiction of Juvenile Courts extends to delinquent children under the age of 17 and deprived or unruly children under the age of 18. Juvenile courts have concurrent jurisdiction with superior courts in cases involving capital felonies, custody and child support cases, and in proceedings to terminate parental rights. The superior courts have original jurisdiction over those juveniles who commit certain serious felonies. The Juvenile Court also has jurisdiction over minors committing traffic violations or enlisting in the military services, consent to marriage for minors, and cases involving the Interstate Compact on Juveniles. Juvenile Court judges are appointed by the superior court judges of the circuit to four-year terms. Judges