Georgia State Courts

Georgia’s court system features a number of trial courts, many of which have limited, subject-matter jurisdiction. These feed into three district courts, a supreme court and also an appeals court which acts as an intermediate.

The three regional district courts act as the origin for lawsuits and a number of different federal trials. The three district courts in the state are listed below:

●       United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia

●       United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia

●       United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia

There are also three bankruptcy courts serving the same three regions. Naturally, these are only given subject-matter jurisdiction, as they hear trials related to bankruptcy.

Georgia has specific probate courts. There is one in each county of the state. These are once again given subject-matter jurisdiction to deal with guardians, wills and incapacitated people’s financial needs.

State courts deal with the misdemeanors in the state of Georgia. They have jurisdiction over civil issues except where Supreme Courts are involved.

There are also a number of Magistrate Courts. These deal with smaller issues such as minor offences and financial claims up to $15,000 in value. As such, their jurisdiction is limited.

The Superior Courts of Georgia are situated in the counties of the state and have general jurisdiction. Appeals might end up here having come from lower state courts and district courts.

https://georgia.gov/

Court Name:	Georgia Supreme Court
Address:	244 Washington Street, Suite 572 Atlanta, Georgia 30334
Phone:	(404) 656-3470
Website URL:	https://www.gasupreme.us/

Intermediate and Supreme Courts

Georgia also has a Court of Appeals. This is the appellate court and acts as an intermediate. 

It has jurisdiction statewide unless the case deals with constitutional questioning, muder or habeas corpus in which case the Supreme court would step in. The Court of Appeals can deal with appeals escalated from the district courts and superior courts.

The Supreme Court in Georgia has nine judges in situ. As outlined in the Georgia Constitution, it has jurisdiction over land, divorce, death penalty, writs of habeas corpus and even over the most debated and appealed cases from the Georgia Court of Appeals, which may end up being debated and settled in the Supreme Court if required. The Supreme Court is the court of last resort for the state.

Types of Courts in Georgia

How to Find Georgia Court Records Online

Use our tool to find the judicial records from court cases that have taken place in Georgia. Since the Georgia Sunshine Law came into effect (also called the Open Records Act) then people have had the right to access all of the records collected by the courts in the state of Georgia. This is deemed to be the right of US citizens. Most records are now digitized and accessible online, but in some historic cases you may have to contact the court in question to access these records. 

Georgia Counties