DRAFT

INFORMATION FOR CHIEF JUSTICE HUNSTEIN FOR STATE OF JUDICIARY SPEECH 2010

The Court of Appeals is the only statewide appellate court other than the Supreme Court in the State of Georgia. The Court of Appeals, created in 1906, handles civil, criminal, and juvenile appeals which arise from cases in the trial courts of the state (the superior, state, juvenile, probate, magistrate, municipal and other miscellaneous local courts). The Court has jurisdiction of all appeals except those reserved to the Supreme Court or the superior courts. This is about 85% of appeals. The Court of Appeals is an intermediate appellate court which means that the parties can petition the Supreme Court of Georgia for review of decisions of the Court of Appeals. In most appeals, the decision of the Court of Appeals is the final decision. Only a very small number of the total appeals handled by the Court of Appeals are granted review by the Supreme Court.

The primary function of the Court of Appeals is to review decisions made by trial courts in the state's judicial system to determine if the trial court made errors which would require a change in the judgment in the case. The Court currently has about 2,400 to 2,500 direct appeals per year. The Court is given the discretion by statute to determine whether to permit an appeal in certain types of cases. The Court must issue its decision granting, denying, or dismissing the application within no more than 30 days on discretionary applications and 45 days on interlocutory application. There are about 750 to 850 applications per year.

Unlike trial courts the Court of Appeals does not have trials or hearings, but the parties can request an opportunity to orally argue before the Court. About 40% to 45% of the appeals are scheduled for oral argument. Otherwise, the Court reviews records, depositions, transcripts and writings called briefs submitted by the parties and conducts its own research of the law in order to reach its decisions. The record to be reviewed by the Court may be just a few pages long or thousands of pages.

The Court has 12 judges who are elected statewide for six-year terms. A Chief Judge is the administrative head of the Court. All the judges are organized into four divisions of three judges each. Each case is considered by a three-judge panel although in certain circumstances seven judges or all 12 judges will render a decision. Staff attorneys assist the judges to research the cases while the clerk's office receives filings and records, keeps the Court's records and issues the decisions for the Courts.

Cases are disposed either by order or opinion. The Court of Appeals issues about 1,500 opinions per year which are writings which provided the Court's decision on the case and the reasoning for the decision based upon statutory and case law. The opinions are published to give guidance to parties for the future.

The Constitution of Georgia provides that the Court of Appeals must issue a decision on a direct appeal within either the term to which the appeal was docketed or the next term or the trial court decision will be affirmed by operation of law. The Court of Appeals has never missed this deadline in processing the appeal filed with the Court. Additionally, the Court is required by statute to expedite the processing of many different types of appeal, and does its best to move these cases as quickly as possible.

The Court of Appeals is a vital part of the judicial system because it provides a check on the work of the trial court to ensure that the trial court has adhered to the law and finality to the process. The issues the Court is required to tackle may determine whether a parent continues to have the right to raise a child, whether a defendant must serve a long sentence in prison, whether medical expenses and other expenses are paid to an individual in an automobile accident, and who owns a piece of property. The speedy and just resolution of these types of disputes is essential to a stable society.