Superior Court

Superior court is Georgia’s general jurisdiction trial court. The court has exclusive, constitutional authority over felony cases, divorce, equity and cases regarding title to land. The superior court corrects errors made by lower courts by issuing writs of certiorari; for some lower courts, the right to direct review by the superior court applies. Each county has its own superior court. The courts are organized into 48 judicial circuits, each created by the General Assembly. The number of superior court judges per circuit ranges from two to 19 judges. A chief judge handles the administrative tasks for each circuit. As of July 31, 2001, 187 judges serve in Georgia’s 159 superior courts. Superior court judges are elected to four-year terms in nonpartisan, circuit-wide races. To qualify as a superior court judge, a candidate must be at least 30 years old, be a citizen of Georgia for at least three years, and have practiced law for at least seven years. Superior court judges who have retired and taken senior status may hear cases in any circuit at the request of a local judge, an administrative judge or the governor. The Judicial Administration Act of 1976 grouped the superior court circuits into 10 judicial administrative districts composed of from one to 27 counties. An administrative judge for each district has statutory authority to compile caseload data and to assign superior court judges, with their approval, to serve temporarily in other counties and circuits as needed.