O.C.G.A.

O.C.G.A. § 15-6-4 (2019)

Qualifications of judges

✓ 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) No individual shall be judge of the superior courts unless, at the time of his or her election, he or she has attained the age of 30 years, has been a citizen of the state for three years, has practiced law for seven years, and is a member in good standing with the State Bar of Georgia and has been duly reinstated to the practice of law in the event of his or her disbarment therefrom. (b) The office of any superior court judge shall be vacated upon the disbarment or suspension from the practice of law of such judge by the Supreme Court whether voluntary or involuntary and upon order of the Supreme Court providing for such removal from office.

History

Orig. Code 1863, § 234; Code 1868, § 228; Code 1873, § 238; Code 1882, § 238; Civil Code 1895, § 4312; Civil Code 1910, § 4836; Code 1933, § 24-2603; Ga. L. 1964, p. 363, § 1; Ga. L. 2017, p. 152, § 1/HB 88.

Annotations

Cross references. - Qualifications of judges of superior courts, Ga. Const. 1983, Art. VI, Sec. VII, Para. II. Law reviews. - For article, ‘‘The Selection and Tenure of Judges,’’ see 2 Ga. St. B. J. 281 (1966).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS Plaintiff ’s challenge to the trial judge is without merit since it is not contested that this trial judge did not meet the qualifications to serve as a superior court judge. Moore v. American Suzuki Motor Corp., 203 Ga. App. 189, 416 S.E.2d 807 (1992). O.C.G.A. §§ 15-1-8, 15-6-4, and 15-19-58 did not conflict with one another so as to be unconstitutional because § 15-1-8 provided that judges should not be disqualified from sitting in a proceed-

ing because the judge was a policyholder of any mutual insurance company, § 15-6-4 provided for qualifications for state superior court judges, and § 15-19-58 allowed the state bar to seek injunctive relief against parties engaging in the unauthorized practice of law. Alyshah v. Georgia, No. 1:06-CV-0928-TWT, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66546 (N.D. Ga. Sept. 1, 2006), aff ’d, 230 Fed. Appx. 949 (11th Cir. Ga. 2007).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL Confirmation by Senate not necessary. - Individuals who are appointed by the Governor to the office of judge of the superior court, judge of the superior court emeritus (now senior judge), solicitor general (now district attorney), and solicitor general emeritus (now district attorney emeritus) do not have to be submitted to the state Senate for confirmation. 1960-61 Op. Att’y Gen. p. 101.

Part-time judges or referees. - Both part-time judges of the magistrate court and part-time referees of the juvenile court may be assigned to hear cases in the superior court so long as they meet the qualifications of judges of the superior court as provided in O.C.G.A. § 15-6-4. 1989 Op. Att’y Gen. No. U89-7.

RESEARCH REFERENCES Am. Jur. 2d. - 46 Am. Jur. 2d, Judges, §§ 5, 6. Am. Jur. Proof of Facts. - Disqualification of Trial Judge for Cause, 50 POF3d 449. C.J.S. - 48A C.J.S., Judges, §§ 20, 21.

ALR. - Validity and construction of constitutional or statutory provisions making legal knowledge or experience a condition of eligibility for judicial office, 71 A.L.R.3d 498.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 4 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1992–2021 · leading case: Moore v. Am. Suzuki Motor Corp., 416 S.E.2d 807 (Ga. Ct. App. 1992).

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Moore v. Am. Suzuki Motor Corp., 416 S.E.2d 807 (Ga. Ct. App. 1992). · cites it 4× “1 or that the trial judge was not qualified under OCGA § 15-6-4. Instead, he contends that judges who have not been appointed or elected to serve as judges in the same manner as superior court judges are not qualified for appointment under OCGA § 15-1-9.”

Ellis v. Johnson, 728 S.E.2d 200 (Ga. 2012). · cites it 2× “OCGA § 15-9-120 (2) eliminates the two-tiered lower court procedure (a probate court ruling followed by a de novo appeal to the superior court) “in those counties which are most heavily populated and consequently, administer the most estates”; the requirement that probate judges…”

Goings v. State, 593 S.E.2d 751 (Ga. Ct. App. 2004). · cites it 2× “Nor does he claim that the trial judge was not qualified under OCGA § 15-6-4. “[A]s it is not [claimed] that this trial judge did not meet the qualifications to serve as a superior court judge, [Goings’] challenge to the trial judge is without merit.”

May v. Pritchett (M.D. Ga. 2021). · cites it 2× “See O.C.G.A. §§ 15-6-4 to -10. And the power held by counties does not extend to permit county control over “any court or the personnel thereof.”

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.