When you get into the argument with someone, how do you settle it?
Sometimes you need another person, like a teacher or a parent, to help sort things out.
What happens when the problem involves a law?
That's when the court system of our judicial branch of government is called into action.
The role of the Judicial Branch is to interpret and apply the law to settle conflicts.
There are several different types of courts within Georgia's judicial branch.
The courts where most cases begin are the trial level courts:
superior, state, juvenile, probate, and magistrate.
These courts each have different kinds of authority or
jurisdiction over the kinds of cases they hear.
Georgia has two other courts that only hear appeals from trial courts.
These appellate courts are the Court of Appeals and Georgia's highest court, the Supreme Court.
In order to serve Georgia's citizens, its 159 counties are grouped into 49 judicial circuits.
Each circuit has one or more counties in it and at least one Superior Court judge.
The Superior Court is the most common court in Georgia.
This general trial court hears most criminal and civil cases covered by Georgia's laws.
In a criminal case, the state is taking legal action against someone
charged with committing a crime.
On the other hand, civil cases occur when there
is a dispute between two parties that can be settled by law.
Superior courts have exclusive jurisdiction to try divorces, titles to land, equity cases, and felonies.
A felony is a serious crime that includes burglary, robbery, selling drugs, or more serious crimes
where a victim has been injured or lost their life.
There are 70 state courts in Georgia.
The jurisdiction of this court is limited to misdemeanors,
a crime that is less serious than a felony.
Misdemeanors include violations of the law,
like shoplifting, carrying a concealed weapon, trespassing, and traffic offenses like speeding.
The state court also handles civil cases.
In a civil case, the state court is the mediator in a dispute between two parties
in cases like an auto accident or conflicts over a contract.
The 159 juvenile courts in Georgia hear cases involving youths under 17 years of age.
Kids under 17 brought before juvenile court are
alleged to be delinquent, unruly, or deprived.
A delinquent youth has committed an act that would be considered criminal if an adult had done it--
like a robbery.
An unruly youth commits an act that would not be
considered a crime if an adult had done it--
like running away from home or skipping school.
A deprived youth is in need of supervision from the court
because he or she has no parents, or their parents have abused or neglected them.
Probate courts are found in every county.
Georgia's 159 probate courts oversee the printing of election ballots and the counting of votes.
They also administer wills and estates for the deceased,
and they appoint guardians and handle the legal matters for the mentally ill.
They administer oaths of office for public officials, and they issue marriage licenses.
There are 159 Magistrate Courts in Georgia.
These courts serve a variety of purposes.
For the most part, Magistrate Courts in Georgia review civil claims that are $15,000 or less.
Magistrate Court is also known as small claims court.
The Magistrate may issue arrest warrants and search warrants,
and it may also set bail in criminal cases that will later be held in Superior Court.
Appellate level courts in Georgia do not conduct trials.
They hear appeals from lower-level courts.
An appeal is when a higher court reviews a decision by a lower court,
sort of like taking a decision made between friends
to a teacher or parent to have them
determine whether it was fair or not.
Appellate courts can uphold or overturn decisions made by lower-level courts,
unlike trial court cases, which are heard by more than one judge.
Decisions are made as a group rather than by a single judge or jury.
The court of appeals has 12 judges it hears appeals from the
Superior State in juvenile courts however some cases are handled
exclusively by the Supreme Court
the Supreme Court of Georgia is the highest court in the state there are
seven justices on the Supreme Court one of these judges is elected by his or her
peers to serve as chief justice Supreme Court decisions are determined by a
majority vote of the justices the Supreme Court reviews cases pertaining
to constitutionality of any law passed by the General Assembly it has to answer
the question of whether the law violates the Georgia Constitution finally the
Supreme Court handles a variety of other types of cases including land disputes
wills divorces capital felonies that carry the death penalty cases involving
habeas corpus a judicial requirement that an imprisoned defendant be brought
before the court to determine whether the government has the right to continue
detention every state has its own system of courts to apply the law and make
decisions on how a dispute should be settled the judicial branch of Georgia
has many levels of Courts to handle the variety of disputes that arise among
citizens