Supreme Court of Georgia ( U.S. state ) - wikipedia Supreme Court of Georgia ( U.S. state ) This article is about the highest court of the U.S. state of Georgia. For the highest court of the country of Georgia, see Supreme Court of Georgia ( country ). The Supreme Court of Georgia is the highest judicial authority of the US state of Georgia. The court was established in 1845 as a three - member panel. Since 1896, the justices ( increased in number to six, then to seven in 1945, and finally to nine in 2017 ) have been elected by the people, and today those elections are non-partisan. Three of the state 's nine sitting Justices were re-elected, all unopposed, in 2012. The first Chief Justice of the Court was Joseph Henry Lumpkin, who was appointed in 1863. There have been 27 Chief Justices, and the current Chief Justice of the Court is Harris Hines. Supreme Court of Georgia Seal of the Supreme Court Established 1841 Country Georgia, United States Location Atlanta, Georgia Composition method Gubernatorial appointment with retention election Authorized by Georgia Constitution Decisions are appealed to Supreme Court of the United States Website Official website Chief Justice Currently Harris Hines Since January 6, 2017 Contents 1 History 2 Justices 3 Chief Justices 4 Court of Appeals 5 Jurisdiction 6 Courtroom Security 7 Office of Bar Admissions 8 Composition of State Bar of Georgia 9 See also 10 References 11 Citations 12 External links History Main article : History of Georgia ( U.S. state ) Georgia was established as a state in 1788. In the state 's early days the justice system was set up so that matters of law were settled at a local level. This is how courts were settled up until 1799 when the Judiciary Act was put into place. The Judiciary Act stated that the judges of Georgia would meet annually and discuss any laws or rules that may have or would cause argument among the state. This allowed much of the laws and rules to be somewhat unanimous in all regions of the state. However, this was short to last as in 1801 an act called for anything that was discussed at these meetings to be returned to each county by its appointed judge and there it would be discussed further and decided upon county by county. This brought matters back to a local level. This meant that local court law was the only way to achieve justice and it caused a huge lack of uniformity among courts until the establishment of the Supreme Court was urged by governor George W. Crawford. The order for a Supreme Court of Georgia was amended to the constitution in 1835 ; however, it was not established until 1845 and was implemented in 1846, decades after the Revolutionary War. The original court consisted of three justices : Joseph Henry Lumpkin, the presiding justice, Hiram Warner, and Eugenius A. Nisbet. Their salaries were $2,500 a year. Justices See also : List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Georgia ( U.S. state ) Name Year Appointed Term expires Appointed by Law School Harris Hines ( Chief Justice ) 1995 2020 Zell Miller ( D ) Emory University School of Law Harold Melton ( Presiding Justice ) 2005 2018 Sonny Perdue ( R ) University of Georgia School of Law Robert Benham 1989 2020 Joe Frank Harris ( D ) University of Georgia School of Law Carol W. Hunstein 1992 2018 Zell Miller ( D ) Stetson University College of Law David Nahmias 2009 2022 Sonny Perdue ( R ) Harvard Law School Keith R. Blackwell 2012 2020 Nathan Deal ( R ) University of Georgia School of Law Michael P. Boggs 2017 2018 Nathan Deal ( R ) Walter F. George School of Law Nels S.D. Peterson 2017 2018 Nathan Deal ( R ) Harvard Law School Britt Grant 2017 2018 Nathan Deal ( R ) Stanford Law School Chief Justices Main article : List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Georgia ( U.S. state ) Name Year Appointed End Term J.H. Lumpkin 1863 1867 Hiram Warner 1867, 1872 1868, 1880 Jos. E. Brown 1868 1870 O.A. Lochrane 1871 1872 James Jackson 1880 1887 Logan E. Bleckley 1887 1894 T.J. Simmons 1894 1905 W.H. Fish 1905 1923 Richard B. Russell 1923 1938 Charles S. Reid 1938 1943 R.C. Bell 1943 1946 W.F. Jenkins 1946 1948 W.H. Duckworth 1948 1969 Bond Almand 1969 1972 Carlton Mobley 1972 Benning M. Grice H.E. Nichols 1980 Hiram K. Undercofler 1980 1980 Robert H. Jordan 1980 1982 Harold N. Hill, Jr. 1982 1986 Thomas O. Marshall 1986 1989 Harold G. Clarke 1992 Willis B. Hunt, Jr. 1995 Robert Benham 1995 2001 Norman S. Fletcher 2001 2005 Leah Ward Sears 2005 2009 Carol W. Hunstein 2009 2012 George H. Carley 2012 2012 Carol W. Hunstein 2012 2013 Hugh P. Thompson 2013 2016 P. Harris Hines 2017 present Court of Appeals In the Court of Appeals, 12 judges are selected to serve 6 year terms. They are elected through nonpartisan elections. The Chief Judge serves for two years. Jurisdiction The Supreme Court of Georgia has the right and authority over every case that involves the review of select appellate jurisdiction. The cases in which it can perform rule over are the cases that bring in question of constitutionality of a law, constitutional arrangement, or mandate. Any election contest can be judged by the Supreme Court of Georgia and the cases it has appellate jurisdiction in are the following : Cases including wills ; Cases of divorce and alimony ; Equity cases ; Habeas Corpus cases ; Cases certified to it by the Court of Appeals ; Title to land cases ; Cases in which a death sentence could be charged or was charged ; and Extraordinary remedies cases. Each justice can create an opinion but it must be passed to the other justices, and after a discussion, depending on the majority, that opinion can be taken in or nulled. In the instance that any justice can not serve in a case due to disqualification or any other reason, a judge can substitute has to be sent by the Court to take that place. Courtroom security Courtroom security is provided by the Capitol Police Division of the Georgia State Patrol. Office of Bar admissions The Supreme Court of Georgia is unusual among state high courts in that it does not admit new lawyers to the state bar. Instead, new lawyers are admitted to practice by the superior court of a county where they live or wish to practice. The new lawyers must separately seek admission to the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court. Before admission, the board of admissions for the Supreme Court of Georgia conducts a background check and only considers the applicants that have the quality and morals to practice law. Composition of state Bar of Georgia The composition of the State Bar is made up of attorneys or lawyers that have practiced the law with experience, but they do not receive pay. They do ; however, receive a reimbursement for their expenses due to traveling, if any. The State Bar is composed of five attorneys that are appointed by the Court and they are in charge of maintaining documentation of the Georgia State Bar examination that occurs twice a year ready, as well as evaluating it. See also Fiat justitia ruat caelum State Bar of Georgia Georgia Court of Appeals Courts of Georgia References Jump up ^ `` Georgia governor OK 's bill expanding state Supreme Court by 2 ''. jacksonville.com. Retrieved 2017 - 03 - 16. Jump up ^ `` Georgia judicial elections, 2012 - Ballotpedia ''. Retrieved 2017 - 03 - 16. Jump up ^ `` Biographies ''. gasupreme.us. Jump up ^ `` The Supreme Court of Georgia History ''. Supreme Court of Georgia. Jump up ^ `` Rules Governing Admission to the Practice of Law, Supreme Court of Georgia. '' https://www.gabaradmissions.org/rules-governing-admission Jump up ^ `` Georgia Office Of Bar Admissions - Home ''. www.gabaradmissions.org. Retrieved 2017 - 04 - 20. Jump up ^ `` History ''. Supreme Court of Georgia. Retrieved 2017 - 04 - 20. Citations History of the Supreme Court of Georgia ( accessed February 17, 2014 ) Huebner, Timothy. The Southern Judicial Tradition : State Judges and Sectional Distinctiveness, 1790 - 1890. Athens, Ga. : University of Georgia Press, 1999. Supreme Court of Georgia Rules Georgia, S.O. ( 2016 ). Rules. Retrieved April 20, 2017, from http://www.gasupreme.us/rules/ External links Official website Coordinates : 33 ° 44 ′ 55 '' N 84 ° 23 ′ 21 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 33.748496 ° N 84.38913 ° W ﻿ / 33.748496 ; - 84.38913 Highest judicial bodies in the United States Federal court Supreme Court of the United States 1st Cir. 2nd Cir. 3rd Cir. 4th Cir. 5th Cir. 6th Cir. 7th Cir. 8th Cir. 9th Cir. 10th Cir. 11th Cir. DC Cir. Fed. Cir. 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Question: how are state court judges in georgia selected
Answer: by the people