Georgia Supreme Court
From Judgepedia
| Georgia Supreme Court |
|---|
|
| Sitting justices |
| Chief: Carol Hunstein Robert Benham George Carley Harris Hines Harold Melton David Nahmias Hugh Thompson |
| Former justices |
| Georgia on Judgepedia |
Contents |
The Georgia Supreme Court consists of seven justices, and was established in 1845. With a constitutional amendment in 1896, Justices were appointed by the state legislature. With the passage of the new amendment, justices have been elected by the people in non-partisan elections. The terms are for six years. The Court sits each month, except August and December, to hear oral arguments.
Jurisdiction
The amended 1983 Georgia Constitution states that the Supreme Court "shall be a court of review and shall exercise exclusive appellate jurisdiction in Exclusive Appellate jurisdiction and General Appellate jurisdiction. The first covers all cases involving the construction of a treaty or of the Constitution of the State of Georgia or of the United States and all cases in which the constitutionality of a law, ordinance or constitutional provision has been drawn in question; and all cases of election contest. General Appellate jurisdiction takes care of cases involving title to land; all equity cases; all cases involving wills; all habeas corpus cases; all cases involving extraordinary remedies; all divorce and alimony cases; all cases certified to it by the Court of Appeals, and all cases in which a sentence of death was imposed or could be imposed. Additionally, the Supreme Court may answer any question of law from any state or federal appellate court and may review by certiorari cases in the Court of Appeals which are of gravity or great public importance. The Supreme Court has power to make such orders as are necessary in aid of its jurisdiction or to protect or effectuate its judgments."[1]
Case load
The caseload for the Georgia Supreme Court in 2006 was 1,866.[2]
The court's justices
Since the court's establishment in 1845, ninety-one justices have served on it.[3]
Selection of justices
The seven justices on the court are chosen in non-partisan elections to six-year terms. "When an interim vacancy occurs, the seat is filled using the commission-selection, political appointment method of judicial selection with the governor picking the interim justice from a slate provided by the Georgia Judicial Nominating Commission consisting of eighteen members who are appointed by the governor and who serve at his pleasure. The commission recommends at least five candidates to the governor for each judicial vacancy, unless fewer than five applicants are found to be qualified. There is no requirement that the governor appoint a candidate from the nominating commission's list."[4]
"Georgia judges may be removed in one of two ways:
- The state's judicial qualifications commission may discipline, retire, or remove a judge. Removal and retirement decisions must be reviewed by the supreme court.
- Judges may be impeached by the house of representatives and convicted by a two-thirds vote of the senate."
Qualifications
To serve on the state supreme court, a justice must be a resident of Georgia and admitted to practice law in the state for at least seven years.[5]
Current justices
Although Georgia's justices are elected, each of the seven justices currently serving was first appointed to fill a vacancy of the court.
| Name | Appointed/elected | Term expires | Appointed by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Benham | 1989 | 2014 | Joe Harris (Democrat) |
| Carol Hunstein (chief judge) | 1992 | 2012 | Zell Miller (Democrat) |
| George Carley | 1993 | 2012 | Zell Miller (Democrat) |
| Hugh Thompson | 1994 | 2012 | Zell Miller (Democrat) |
| Harris Hines | 1995 | 2014 | Zell Miller (Democrat) |
| Harold Melton | 2005 | 2012 | Sonny Perdue (Republican) |
| David Nahmias | 2009 | 2015 | Sonny Perdue (Republican) |
Chief justice
The court's Chief Justice is elected from among and by the state's justices on a rotating basis. Since the court was founded, it has had twenty-seven chief justices. Five of those 27 were not members of the court at the time they became chief justices.[6] Carol Hunstein is the court's current chief justice.
History of the court
In 1858, the Georgia legislature passed an act "decreeing that the decisions of the 13-year-old court had the force of law."[7] The first session of the court was held in Talbotton, Georgia on January 26, 1846. Three judges were chosen by the General Assembly, and were paid $2,500 per year. The men were Joseph Henry Lumpkin of Athens, Eugenius A. Nisbet of Macon, and Hiram Warner of Greenville. There were eleven superior court circuits, and the Supreme Court traveled to those courts. The Constitution of Georgia was amended in 1896 to allow for an additional three justices and provided the direct election of justices by the people. In 1945, the Constitution was amended to include a seventh justice.
External links
- Georgia Supreme Court Official Site
- The Predictable Unpredictability of the Georgia Supreme Court
- Ga. Supreme Court: No new trial for Troy Davis
- Georgia judicial qualifications commission
- Lackluster election for state supreme court justices, June 27, 2008.
- Fringe Tactics: Special Interest Groups Target Judicial Races
References
- ↑ Georgia Supreme Court Official Site
- ↑ Georgia Supreme Court
- ↑ Georgia Supreme Court history
- ↑ Methods of judicial selection, Georgia
- ↑ Up until 2000, the requirement for years of service was five years, but a new constitutional amendment (Georgia Amendment 7) was approved in 2000 changing the years to seven.
- ↑ Georgia Supreme Court: Official Website
- ↑ "[F]rom and after the passage of this act the decisions of the Supreme Court of this State . . . shall not be reversed, overruled or changed; but the same is hereby declared to be, and shall be considered, regarded and observed by all the Courts of this State, as the law of this State, when it has not been changed by legislative enactment, as fully, and to have the same effect, as if the same had been enacted in terms by the General Assembly. Acts of 1858, pp. 74-75.
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