Georgia State Court System Defined:
The state government of Georgia and its respective court system was established and is currently governed in accordance with the Georgia State Constitution.
The State court of Georgia is a republican-based government body with three distinct branches of operation: the Legislature, the Executive branch, and the judiciary.
Through a defined system of separation of powers or “checks and balances”, each of these branches possesses some authority to act on its own, some authority to regulate the other branches, and some authority to be regulated by the other branches.
The judiciary branch, which holds the State Court of Georgia, is the body responsible for determining and upholding the various legal codes within the state.
The highest judiciary power in the state of Georgia is the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court of Georgia is composed of seven judges.
The state Court system of Georgia also possesses a Court of Appeals, which is composed of 12 judges.
Georgia is divided into 49 judicial circuits, each circuit possesses a Superior Court which consists of local citizens numbering between two and 19 members—the numbers of local citizens is dependent on the circuit’s population.
As stated by the state’s Constitution, Georgia also possesses probate courts, juvenile courts, magistrate courts, as well as state courts; the General Assembly may also authorize various municipal courts. Other court systems, including the county recorder’s courts, civil courts and other agencies may continue with the same jurisdiction until otherwise stated or provided by law.
Each county within the state has at least one superior court, probate court, magistrate court, and where needed a state court and a juvenile court. In the absence of a state court or a juvenile court, the superior court exercises the jurisdiction in question.