The Court of Appeals besides the Supreme Court is the only statewide appellate court in the State of Georgia. The Court of Appeals, created in 1906, handles both civil and criminal cases 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 cases except those involving constitutional questions, land title disputes, the construction of wills, murder, election contests, habeas corpus, extraordinary remedies, divorce and alimony and cases where original appellate jurisdiction lies with the superior courts. 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. Information on the history of the Court of Appeals is available on the Court web page at www.gaappeals.us.

The primary function of the Court of Appeals is to review decisions made by trial courts in the state's judicial system. Cases are initiated by the filing of a notice of appeal with the trial court or the filing of an application with the Clerk of the Court of Appeals pursuant to state statutes and the rules of the Court. The Court of Appeals has adopted rules for the guidance of the bar and litigants which are published on the Court's web page and paper copies are available from the Clerk's Office.

In direct appeals, the parties are given the opportunity to file briefs containing the facts, enumerations of errors, and arguments supporting their side in the appeal. Parties may request oral argument before the Court. If oral argument is granted by the Court, each side will have a maximum of 15 minutes to present the argument. Decisions are not made on the day of the argument. However, the Court of Appeals, pursuant to the Georgia Constitution, must issue a decision within two terms of court: the term in which the appeal is docketed and the next term. The Court has three terms of court per year.

The Court is given the discretion by statute to determine whether to permit an appeal in certain types of cases. In those types of cases, filing an application with the Court is the procedure required to request the Court to permit an appeal. The Court will issue its decision granting, denying, or dismissing the application within no more than 30 days on discretionary applications and 45 days on interlocutory application. If an application is granted, the party who submitted the application will be given a limited period of time in which to then file a notice of appeal with the trial court.

The Court has 12 judges who are elected statewide for six-year terms. The Chief Judge is elected by the Court for a two year term. The judges are organized into 4 divisions of 3 judge each. The Chief Judge designates a Presiding Judge for each division. The Chief Judge also assigns the other members to each division on an annual basis. Most case decisions are made by a 3 judge panel, although in certain circumstances 7 judges or all 12 judges will render a decision.

The Court of Appeals dockets over 3000 cases per year and issues about 1500 opinions per year. Most opinions are published opinions and can be located in the Georgia Appeals Reports and the Southeastern Reporter. There were 2,443 direct appeals and 830 applications filed in 2008. Appeals from criminal cases are about 41% of direct appeals and civil cases are about 59%.