O.C.G.A.

O.C.G.A. § 15-10-22 (2019)

Qualifications; restrictions on practice of law

✓ O.C.G.A. — 2019 edition (Public.Resource.Org Release 73)

Code text and O.C.G.A. statutory annotations on this page reflect the 2019 Official Code of Georgia Annotated (Public.Resource.Org Release 73, 2019-08-21; public domain per Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). The Syfert case-law annotations in Notes of Decisions, below, are current.

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(a) Each magistrate taking office on or after July 1, 2019, shall: (1) Have been a resident of the county for two years next preceding the beginning of his or her term of office; (2) Be at least 25 years of age; (3) Remain a resident of such county during his or her term of office; (4) Be a citizen of the United States; (5) Be a registered voter; and (6) Have obtained a state accredited high school diploma or general educational development (GED) diploma. (b) Additional qualifications for the office of chief magistrate or magistrate or both may be imposed by local law. (c) A magistrate who is an attorney may practice in other courts but may not practice in the magistrate’s own court or appear in any matter as to which that magistrate has exercised any jurisdiction.

History

Code 1981, § 15-10-22, enacted by Ga. L. 1983, p. 884, § 2-1; Ga. L. 1984, p. 1096, § 3; Ga. L. 1987, p. 430, § 1; Ga. L. 2019, p. 658, § 3/HB 257.

The 2019 amendment, effective July 1, 2019, substituted the present provisions of this Code section for the former provisions, which read: ‘‘Each magistrate

shall have been a resident of the county for one year next preceding the beginning of his term of office and shall as of such date be at least 25 years of age and shall possess a high school diploma or its equivalent. However, an officer becoming a magistrate pursuant to Code Section 15-10-120 shall be eligible to the office of magistrate without the necessity of meeting these qualifications. Additional qualifications for the office of chief magistrate or magistrate or both may be imposed by local law.

‘‘(b) A magistrate who is an attorney may practice in other courts but may not practice in the magistrate’s own court or appear in any matter as to which that magistrate has exercised any jurisdiction.’’

Annotations

Cross references. - Proscription against inappropriate political activity by judges, Georgia Code of Judicial Conduct, Canon 7.

JUDICIAL DECISIONS Cited in State v. Slaughter, 252 Ga. 435, 315 S.E.2d 865 (1984); Beck v. State, 283 Ga. 352, 658 S.E.2d 577 (2008). OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL There is no requirement that a magistrate be an attorney. 1983 Op. Att’y Gen. No. 83-53. Eligibility of justice of the peace for appointment. - Certified justice of the peace is eligible to be appointed chief

magistrate pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 15-10-120 but a noncertified justice of the peace is eligible for appointment only if the requirements of O.C.G.A. § 15-10-22 have been met. 1983 Op. Att’y Gen. No. 83-59.

ADVISORY OPINIONS OF THE STATE BAR Part-time judges may represent defendants in criminal cases; however, regular or exclusive representation of such defendants by a judge whose responsibilities include the issuance of criminal warrants or the trial of criminal cases

might destroy the appearance of impartiality and integrity essential to the administration of justice and, therefore, be inappropriate. Adv. Op. No. 86-2 (Aug. 23, 1989).

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 7 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1984–2022 · leading case: Scott K. Camp v. Ryan Christopher Williams, 314 Ga. 699 (Ga. 2022).

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Scott K. Camp v. Ryan Christopher Williams, 314 Ga. 699 (Ga. 2022). · cites it 8× “See OCGA § 21-2-6 (a); see also OCGA § 15-10-22 (identifying the “Qualifications of magistrates”).”

State v. Slaughter, 315 S.E.2d 865 (Ga. 1984). · cites it 4× “OCGA § 15-10-22 (a) *440 (Code Ann. § 24-503).”

In Re Inquiry Concerning a Judge, JQC NOS. 01-44, 01-73, 01-89, 01-90, 566 S.E.2d 310 (Ga. 2002). · cites it 4× “” OCGA § 15-10-22 (b), in turn, states that “[a] magistrate who is an attorney may practice in other courts, but may not practice in the magistrate’s own court or appear in any matter as to which that magistrate has exercised any jurisdiction.”

Massey v. State, 458 S.E.2d 818 (Ga. 1995). · cites it 4× “See OCGA § 15-7-21 (b) (prohibiting part-time state court judges from practicing in their own court or in any matter where they have exercised jurisdiction); OCGA § 15-10-22 (b) (prohibiting magistrates who are attorneys from practicing in their own court or appearing in any…”

Beck v. State, 658 S.E.2d 577 (Ga. 2008). · cites it 2× “OCGA § 15-10-22 (a). 2 Defendant was represented by counsel with regard to the third guilty plea.”

Beck v. State, 650 S.E.2d 728 (Ga. Ct. App. 2007). · cites it 2× “Douglas, however, was not qualified to serve as a magistrate because she was younger than the minimum age requirement of 25, as set out in OCGA § 15-10-22 (a). The chief magistrate did not remember if he had entered the magistrate’s oath on the minutes of the superior court.”

Porter v. Calhoun Cnty. Bd. of Commissioners, 314 S.E.2d 649 (Ga. 1984). · cites it 2× “OCGA §§ 15-10-22 and 15-10-23(c) (Code Ann.”

— 15-10-22(b) — 1 case

Massey v. State, 458 S.E.2d 818 (Ga. 1995). “See OCGA § 15-7-21 (b) (prohibiting part-time state court judges from practicing in their own court or in any matter where they have exercised jurisdiction); OCGA § 15-10-22 (b) (prohibiting magistrates who are attorneys from practicing in their own court or appearing in any…”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.