Georgia Judicial System Structure

Courts in Georgia include the state court system and the federal court system. The state court system includes trial courts and appellate courts.

The appellate courts include the Georgia Supreme Court and Georgia Court of Appeals.

Trial courts are where most Georgians come into contact with the judicial system.

Trial Courts

The trial courts include the superior court system at the top, followed by state courts, civil courts, probate courts, magistrate courts, juvenile courts, county recorder’s courts, and municipal courts.

Felony charges are handled in superior courts which are known as courts of “general jurisdiction”. The courts of “limited jurisdiction” deal with more local-level issues, such as misdemeanor offenses and juvenile crime.

Local Courts of “Limited Jurisdiction”

Georgia State Courts

Countywide courts of limited jurisdiction. Where they exist, these courts hear misdemeanor violations. There are 122 judges serving in 70 courts.

Georgia Juvenile Courts

Handle cases involving children under the age of 17. There are 120 judges (and associate judges) serving in 159 courts at this level.

Georgia Probate Courts

Have original jurisdiction over cases involving wills, estates and appointment of guardians. There are 159 judges serving in 159 courts.

Magistrate Courts

Do not conduct jury trials and may handle a range of cases, including civil claims of less than $15,000, county ordinance violations, account fraud and preliminary hearings. Magistrate judges may also review and sign warrants. There are 159 magistrate courts, with 354 magistrates.

Georgia Municipal Courts

The jurisdiction of municipal courts varies throughout the state. There are 370 municipal courts with 352 active judges.

Georgia Has 159 Superior Courts (1 per county)

Georgia’s superior courts are the state’s trial courts of “general jurisdiction,” handling cases of felony charges. Each of Georgia’s 159 counties has its own superior court. Superior court judges are elected on a nonpartisan basis in circuit-wide elections for four-year terms.

Remember that Georgia is second only to Texas in its number of counties, meaning we have a more complex judicial court system to contend with than almost every other state.

Find your Superior Court’s website using this online tool.

49 Judicial Circuits and 49 District Attorneys

Each of the 159 superior courts operates within one of the state’s 49 judicial circuits. Districts include from one to eight counties, and some represents just one county (ex: Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, DeKalb, Henry).

Each judicial circuit is overseen by 1 of 49 District Attorneys who prosecute all felony cases. The District Attorney is an elected office with a four-year term. District Attorneys have an immense amount of discretion to determine which crimes are going to be most intensely prosecuted and the type of sentencing that people should receive.

10 Judicial Districts

Georgia’s 49 judicial circuits then divide into the ten (10) state judicial districts. You can see how they split up in the map below

Appellate Courts

Appellate courts fall above trial courts in the judicial hierarchy and have the authority to consider the ruling of a lower court. They also have the power to overturn that ruling. However, requests to appeal the ruling of a case are not always granted.

When a case is successfully and continuously appealed, it goes first to the Georgia Court of Appeals, then to the Georgia Supreme Court, and then into the federal judicial system.

Georgia Court of Appeals

The Georgia Court of Appeals is the first stop for most civil and criminal appeals in the state. There are 12 judges on the court that hear cases in three-judge panels.

Georgia Supreme Court

The Georgia Supreme Court is the court of last resort in the state. It has nine justices and “comprehensive jurisdiction.”

Federal: 3 US District Courts in Georgia

There are a total of 94 US District Courts and Georgia has three. 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.

Middle District of Georgia
- Courthouses in Macon, Albany, Athens, Columbus and Valdosta.
Northern District of Georgia
- Courthouses in Atlanta, Gainesville, Newnan and Rome.
Southern District of Georgia
- Courthouses in Augusta, Brunswick, Dublin, Savannah, Waycross, and Statesboro.