1. Today is Thursday, March 27th
Warm up:
Answer the following questions on your warm up sheet: What is a court’s jurisdiction?
2. How is the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals different from the rest of Georgia’s courts?
Agenda: -Courts -Pretrial/Trial Process Quiz on Judicial Branch 4/10 Government Test 4/16

2. Georgia’s Judicial Branch
What is the dual purpose of the judicial branch?
How are judges selected in Georgia?
What is the difference between criminal and civil cases?

3. Three ways judges acquire their positions are:
Two Types of Courts
Trial Courts
Appellate Courts
First hearing of a case
Jury Trials
Not a trial
Review evidence and decision of a trial court
Uphold or overrule the trial court’s decision
Three ways judges acquire their positions are:
Partisan election
Non-partisan election
Appointed

4.  ONE COURT PER COUNTY IN GEORGIA 
Supreme Court
9 Justices
(elected 6 year terms) Nonpartisan
Court of Appeals
15 judges
(elected 6 year terms)
Nonpartisan
Superior Court
49 circuits
Population determines the # of counties in a circuit
(elected 4 year terms)
State Court
(elected 4 yr. terms)
70 Courts
Juvenile Court
(appointed 4yr Terms)
159 Courts
Probate Court
(elected 4yr term)
Partisan
Not a trial court
Magistrate Court
(elected or appointed 4yr)
Smaller counties do not have a state court
 ONE COURT PER COUNTY IN GEORGIA 

5. REVIEW
Open your textbook to page Review EACH of the following courts and be ready to discuss their jurisdiction. Superior State Probate Magistrate Juvenile

6. Judge selection
Qualifications
Responsibilities
Elected (nonpartisan)
4 year term
30 years old
Lawyer for 7 years
Resident of circuit
Criminal Cases
Felonies
Civil cases
Over $15k
Divorce

7. State Court Judge selection Qualifications Responsibilities
Elected (non partisan)
4 year terms
25 years
3 years in state
Lawyer for 7 years
Less serious criminal cases- like traffic violations
Issues warrants
Search
Arrest
Small counties may not have (70)

8. Probate Court Judge selection Qualifications Responsibilities
Elected (partisan)
4 year term
U.S. Citizens
Resident of county for 2 years
In counties with more then 96k = 30 years/ 7yrs in law
All other counties 25 yrs and high school diploma
Wills and estates
Licenses
Marriage
Firearms
Print and count election ballots
Legal guardians of elderly or mentally ill

9. Magistrate Court Judge selection Qualifications Responsibilities
Elected or appointed (partisan)
25 years
High school diploma
Resident of county for 1 year
Issues warrants
Civil cases less than $15k
Minor criminal cases
No jury trials
People can represent themselves in court

10. Juvenile Court Judge selection Qualifications Responsibilities
Appointed (by Superior)
4 year term
30 years of age
Lawyer 7 years
Cases of deprived and neglected children under 18
Delinquent or unruly children under 17
Traffic violations committed by juveniles
No juries

11. Court of Appeals Judge selection Qualifications Responsibilities
Elected (nonpartisan)
6 year term
State resident
Practice law for 7 years
Hear cases being appealed from lower courts
The correct legal errors made at the trial level
Reads transcripts, and briefs from the original trial

12. Supreme Court Judge selection Qualifications Responsibilities
Nine Justices
Elected (nonpartisan)
6 year term
Nonpartisan
Chief Justice is head of court and elected by the other justices.
State resident
Practice law for 7 years
Decides if laws passed by the legislature are constitutional
Death penalty case
Decisions are final unless a federal law or U.S. constitution are involved

13. Why do you think judges are elected in NON-PARTISAN elections?
Let’s Summarize
Juvenile and Magistrate
No Juries
Appointed
Magistrate and Probate
Partisan Elections
Most judges are elected in non-partisan elections
Juvenile judges are appointed
Magistrate can be appointed or elected depending on the county
Why do you think judges are elected in NON-PARTISAN elections?
Magistrate and probate represent a political party in elections
Probate is not really a trial court. They issue paperwork
Magistrate handles smaller criminal and civil cases
WHICH TWO COURTS HAVE SIMILAR JURISDICTIONS? How can we keep them apart?
State and magistrate
State
Similar
Magistrate
Not every county has one
Traffic violations
Lesser criminal offences
Issue warrants
One in EVERY county
Civil less than $15k
NO JURY trials

14. Which court would handle the case?
Scenarios
Which court would handle the case?

15. Answer on your warm –up sheet
Friday, March 29th
Agenda:
Warm Up:
Adult Trial Process
Hmwk- Have a great break
Answer on your warm –up sheet
Which TWO courts appoint judges instead of elect them?
What TWO courts do not have a JURY?
What TWO courts have a partisan election?
What is the term a judge serves for trial courts?
What is the term a judge serves for Supreme Court and Court of Appeals?

16. Scenarios: Which court would handle the case?
Michael was charged with shoplifting, which court will hear his case?
State/Magistrate- minor criminal case
A prisoner on death row asking for an appeal
Supreme Court
Herb’s grandmother passed away and his family is disputing her will.
Probate Court- wills and estates
Lacey is unhappy with the court’s decision regarding her worker’s comp case.
The Court of Appeals
An 18 year old boy is going trial for auto theft.
Superior Court – criminal trials /felony
A company is suing an employee for breach of contract.
Superior or Magistrate Court – Civil cases
Rebecca’s appeal has been denied by the Court of Appeals.
Supreme court

17. Scenarios continued: Which court would handle this case?
A hunter was caught killing deer out of hunting season
Probate Court
The FBI needs a warrant to search the premises of a known drug dealer
State or Magistrate
After receiving a gun for his birthday, where will Jeb get his gun permit.
Probate Court- firearm license
Connie is suing her neighbor for $3k, the cost of replacing her roof after the neighbor’s tree fell on it
Magistrate Court- civil cases under $5k
Christy wants to get married to Bradley, where will they go to receive their marriage license
Lynn is 16 and was caught with drugs and alcohol at a party
Juvenile Court
Jennifer wants to become the legal guardian of 95 year old grandmother with dementia.
Probate Court – legal guardians

19. The adult justice system Pretrial and trial steps

20. Pre trial steps
Arrest- There is enough evidence that someone has committed a crime serious enough to warrant being taken into custody
Booking- Law enforcement officers make an official arrest report and hold the suspect in the local jail
Initial appearance- The suspect appears before a magistrate court where he or she goes before a judge to have the charges brought against them explained and to determine if they are to be released on bail
Preliminary hearing- The magistrate judge determines if there was a crime committed and if there is probable cause that the suspect was involved with the crime.

21. Pre trail Steep
Grand Jury- A group of citizens, called a grand jury, examine the evidence in order to determine if the suspect should be charged with a crime. If they do decide there is enough evidence, they issue what is called an indictment.
Assignment before Superior Court- Upon receiving an indictment, the suspect is then arraigned and brought before the superior court judge. During the arraignment, the suspect officially states that they are guilty or not guilty of the offense. If the suspect claims that they are not guilty, the case moves on to trial.
Admitting Guilt/Plea deal- The suspect also has the opportunity to plea guilty. If they plea guilty to the charge, the judge will sentence the individual and the case does not go to trial. The suspect also has the choice of plea bargaining and admitting guilt to a lesser offense. If the prosecutor agrees to the plea bargain, the suspect is sentenced for the lesser offense and the case will also not go to trial.

22. Trial
Selecting a Jury: In order to begin the trial, 12 citizens are selected as jurors for the case. In this process, the prosecuting and defending lawyers, along with the judge, can ask the juror questions to determine if they should serve on the trial.
Opening Statements: Once the trial begins, both attorneys are given the opportunity to speak directly to the jury to explain what they hope to prove in the case.
Presentation of evidence: During the case, witnesses are called to the stand to give testimony. The process starts with the prosecuting attorney calling a witness who he or she hopes will prove the guilt of the defendant. The defendant’s attorney is given the opportunity to cross-examine the witness.
Closing statements: After all of the witnesses have had a chance to speak, both attorneys present their final arguments in the case.

23. Trial
5. Jury deliberation and verdict: After the final arguments, the jury is asked to discuss amongst themselves if they think the defendant is guilty or not. Once they make their decision, they notify the judge. If the verdict is not guilty, the defendant is released. 6. Sentencing: If the jury finds the defendant guilty, the judge sentences the defendant, telling him/her the amount of time he/she will spend in prison and how much they owe in damages. 7. Appeal: If the defendant maintains his or her innocence or if there were mistakes made in the case, the defendant can make an appeal where an appellate court will review the case. If they overturn the ruling, the case goes back to superior court for a new trial.

24. Jury Selection

25. Opening Statements

26. Presentation of Evidence

27. Cross Examination

28. Closing Statement

29. Jury Deliberation

30. Sentencing

31. Appeal