12/22/2020 – CHIEF JUSTICE TO SUSPEND JURY TRIALS
Atlanta, December 22, 2020 – In an emergency session today with state judicial leaders, Chief Justice Harold D. Melton said he will sign an order tomorrow, Dec. 23, that will suspend jury trials statewide [...]
12/9/2020 – JUDGES URGED TO EXERCISE RENEWED CAUTION FOR IN-PERSON COURT PROCEEDINGS IN LIGHT OF COVID SURGE
Atlanta, Dec. 9, 2020 – With the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in Georgia, Chief Justice Harold D. Melton signaled today that judges should stand ready to reverse course and pull back on in-person [...]
12/1/2020 – Governor Kemp Appoints Judge Shawn Ellen LaGrua to Georgia Supreme Court
Chief Justice Harold D. Melton today issued the following statement in response to Governor Kemp’s intention to appoint Judge Shawn Ellen LaGrua to the Supreme Court of Georgia:“We are delighted that Governor Kemp has chosen [...]
11/27/2020 – FORMER CHIEF JUSTICE GEORGE CARLEY HAS DIED
Atlanta, November 27, 2020 – Former Chief Justice George H. Carley died late Thursday night from COVID-19, Chief Justice Harold D. Melton has announced. The former justice passed away around 11:00 p.m. at Emory [...]
11/20/2020 – AUBURN UNIVERSITY RENAMES STUDENT CENTER AFTER GA CHIEF JUSTICE
Chief Justice Harold Melton stands in front of the Auburn University Student Center named in his honor with his wife, Kim, and son, Julian. Atlanta, Nov. 20, 2020 – In [...]
11/18/2020 – Georgia Supreme Court Justice Michael Boggs Appointed Chair of National Effort to Improve Criminal Justice Data
Georgia Supreme Court Justice Michael Boggs Appointed Chair of National Effort to Improve Criminal Justice Data Justice Counts aims to make criminal justice data more timely, useful Atlanta, GA—Nov. 18, 2020—Georgia Supreme Court Justice [...]
11/9/2020 – STATEWIDE JUDICIAL EMERGENCY EXTENDED
Atlanta, November 9, 2020 –Chief Justice Harold D. Melton today signed his eighth order extending for one month the Statewide Judicial Emergency he first declared on March 14, 2020 due to COVID-19. The Chief [...]
11/9/2020 – GEORGIA BAR EXAM AGAIN TO BE OFFERED ONLINE
Atlanta, November 9, 2020 –In response to the ongoing pandemic, the Supreme Court of Georgia has decided for a second time to replace an in-person Georgia Bar examination with an online test that will [...]
10/7/2020 – JURY TRIALS ALLOWED TO RESUME IN GEORGIA; WILL FOLLOW COVID-19 SAFETY GUIDELINES
Atlanta, October 7, 2020 – Chief Justice Harold D. Melton of the Supreme Court of Georgia announced today that he will sign an order Saturday, Oct. 10 that lifts the suspension of jury trials [...]
9/10/2020 – GRAND JURY PROCEEDINGS TO RESUME IN GEORGIA
Atlanta, September 10, 2020 – Grand jury proceedings may resume under an order signed today by Chief Justice Harold D. Melton of the Supreme Court of Georgia. The order extends until Oct. 10 the [...]
9/4/2020 – AUBURN UNIVERSITY NAMES BUILDING AFTER GA CHIEF JUSTICE
Atlanta, September 4, 2020 – The Auburn University Board of Trustees voted today to name its student center after Chief Justice Harold D. Melton of the Supreme Court of Georgia. Chief Justice Melton graduated [...]
8/12/2020 – MILITARY CAPTAIN STATIONED IN EUROPE WILL BE ADMITTED TO THE HIGHEST COURT IN GEORGIA
Atlanta, August 12, 2020 – Chief Justice Harold D. Melton announced today that prior to oral arguments on Thursday, Aug. 13, he will swear in Captain Bryan Dayton of the Georgia Army National Guard [...]
8/11/2020 – CHIEF JUSTICE AGAIN EXTENDS JUDICIAL EMERGENCY
Atlanta, August 11, 2020 – For the fifth time since mid-March, Chief Justice Harold D. Melton has extended for another month the Statewide Judicial Emergency that he first announced March 14, 2020 in response [...]
7/20/2020 – ONLINE TEST WILL REPLACE IN-PERSON GEORGIA BAR EXAM
Atlanta, July 20, 2020 – Chief Justice Harold D. Melton announced today that the Supreme Court of Georgia has canceled the in-person Georgia bar examination that was scheduled for Sept. 9-10 at the Georgia [...]
7/10/2020 – CHIEF JUSTICE EXTENDS JUDICIAL EMERGENCY
Atlanta, July 10, 2020 – Chief Justice Harold D. Melton today signed an order extending the Statewide Judicial Emergency that he first announced March 14, 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is [...]
7/2/2020 – CHIEF JUSTICE ON DEATH OF JUDGE HORACE JOHNSON, JR.
Atlanta, July 2, 2020 – Chief Justice Harold D. Melton made the following statement upon learning of the sudden passing Wednesday, July 1, of Judge Horace Johnson, Jr. of Newton County: “People didn’t just [...]
7/2/2020 – Supreme Court to End Practice of Sua Sponte Sufficiency Review in Non-Death Penalty Murder Appeals
The Supreme Court of Georgia announced today that, beginning with cases docketed to the Court on or after August 3, 2020, it will end its practice of considering sua sponte the legal sufficiency of [...]
6/19/2020 – JUSTICE BOGGS SELECTED MEMBER OF NATIONAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE ORGANIZATION
Atlanta, June 19, 2020 - Justice Michael P. Boggs has been elected as a founding member of the Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ), a national invitational membership organization and think tank. Independent and nonpartisan, [...]
6/12/2020 – Chief Justice Extends Statewide Judicial Emergency Order
Atlanta, June 12, 2020 – Chief Justice Harold D. Melton announced today that he has extended until Sunday, July 12, 2020, the statewide judicial emergency that he initially declared on March 14. After consulting [...]
Fireside chat with Justice McMillian
Click here to view the webinar.
5/29/2020 – Supreme Court of Georgia Solicits Comments on Proposed New Georgia State-wide Business Court Rules.
In the wake of the ratification of the constitutional amendment creating a state-wide business court, and the enactment of legislation establishing the Georgia State-wide Business Court pursuant to that constitutional authority, see OCGA § [...]
5/20/2020 – SUPREME COURT TO RESTART ITS CASES AND REINSTATE ITS FILING DEADLINES
Atlanta, May 20, 2020 – On Thursday, May 21, 2020, the Supreme Court of Georgia will issue orders designed to keep the Court operating to the fullest extent possible during and after the statewide [...]
5/4/2020 – CHIEF JUSTICE WILL EXTEND STATEWIDE JUDICIAL EMERGENCY
Atlanta, May 4, 2020 - Chief Justice Harold D. Melton announced today that he will extend for another month the Statewide Judicial Emergency, which is due to expire May 13. Under an order the [...]
5/4/2020 – DRAFT VIDEO TRIAL FOR PUBLIC COMMENT
The Council of Superior Court Judges has drafted an amendment to Uniform Superior Court Rule 9.1 that would authorize civil non-jury trials to be conducted by video conference. The Supreme Court is seeking comments [...]
4/17/2020 – SUPREME COURT RESCHEDULES BAR EXAM, ADOPTS RULE ALLOWING LAW SCHOOL GRADUATES TO PRACTICE TEMPORARILY WITHOUT BAR LICENSE
The Supreme Court of Georgia announced today that due to the coronavirus, it has rescheduled the July 28-29 bar exam for September 9-10. Out of concern for the difficulties this necessary delay creates for [...]
4/10/2020 – CARLA MCMILLIAN SWORN INTO GA SUPREME COURT
Atlanta, April 10, 2020 – Justice Carla Wong McMillian was officially sworn in today as a member of the Supreme Court of Georgia. She is the first Asian Pacific American to serve on the [...]
4/6/2020 – CHIEF JUSTICE EXTENDS JUDICIAL EMERGENCY
Atlanta, April 6, 2020 – Chief Justice Harold D. Melton issued an order today that extends the statewide judicial emergency until May 13, 2020. The Chief Justice first declared a judicial emergency on March [...]
3/31/2020 – HIGH COURT APPROVES RULES TO KEEP COURTS OPEN AND ACCESSIBLE
Atlanta, March 31, 2020 – The Supreme Court of Georgia has issued orders approving amendments to current trial court rules for the purpose of keeping Georgia’s courts open and accessible during the COVID-19 emergency. [...]
3/27/2020 – GA SUPREME COURT TO HOLD VIRTUAL COURT SESSION
Atlanta, March 27, 2020 – The Supreme Court of Georgia is gearing up to hold oral arguments via video conferencing the week of April 20, Chief Justice Harold D. Melton announced today. In the [...]
3/23/2020 – Order Entered for Case Numbers S20M1012, S20M1020
On Monday morning, March 23, the Supreme Court of Georgia entered the following order in the cases involving John Barrow and Elizabeth Beskin v. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE ORDER. [...]
3/17/2020 – GEORGIA SUPREME COURT SUSPENDS FILING DEADLINES
In response to the Chief Justice’s declaration Saturday, March 14 of a statewide judicial emergency, the Supreme Court of Georgia has determined the following: The declaration order automatically suspends filing deadlines in this Court [...]
3/14/2020 – March oral argument sessions are canceled.
Atlanta, March 14, 2020 – March oral argument sessions are canceled. The cases scheduled for March oral argument will be added to the April 2020 oral argument calendar.
3/14/2020 – CHIEF JUSTICE ANNOUNCES STATEWIDE JUDICIAL EMERGENCY
Atlanta, March 14, 2020 – Chief Justice Harold D. Melton today declared a Statewide Judicial Emergency effective immediately due to the spread of the coronavirus throughout Georgia “and the potential infection of those who [...]
3/12/2020 – COURTS MAY SUSPEND JURY TRIALS IF NECESSARY
Atlanta, March 12, 2020 – Chief Justice Harold D. Melton today directed Georgia’s judges to consider limiting all non-essential functions in courthouses across the state for at least two weeks. In an emergency telephone [...]
3/12/2020 – SUPREME COURT TAKES STEPS TO LIMIT EXPOSURE TO VIRUS
Atlanta, March 12, 2020 – Chief Justice Harold D. Melton announced that effective today, the Supreme Court of Georgia will take the following steps to curtail the amount of people coming into the Nathan [...]
2/28/2020 – JUSTICE KEITH BLACKWELL TO RESIGN IN NOVEMBER
Atlanta, February 28, 2020 – Justice Keith R. Blackwell announced today that he will resign from the Supreme Court of Georgia on Nov. 18, 2020, the last day of the August Term of Court. [...]
2/26/2020 – STATE OF THE JUDICIARY
Chief Justice Harold Melton shakes hands with legislators as he enters the House Chamber in the State Capitol Wednesday morning to deliver his second State of the Judiciary address. CLICK TO READ THE SPEECH. [...]
2/13/2020 – JUSTICE BENHAM’S LAST DAY ON THE BENCH
Atlanta, February 13, 2020 – Justice Robert Benham sat for the last time today on the bench of the Supreme Court of Georgia. Today was the last day a pillar of Georgia history [...]
2/6/2020 – GEORGIA SENATE HONORS JUSTICE BENHAM
Atlanta, Feb. 6, 2020 – The Georgia Senate honored Justice Robert Benham Wednesday when it adopted a resolution commending him as a “champion of justice” and praising him for his “deep personal commitment to [...]
2/24/2020 – STATE OF THE JUDICIARY
Atlanta, February 24, 2020 – Chief Justice Harold D. Melton will deliver his second State of the Judiciary address to a joint session of the Legislature this coming Wednesday, February 26, 2020 at 11 [...]
1/22/2020 – U.S. SUPREME COURT JUSTICE CLARENCE THOMAS TO DEDICATE NEW JUDICIAL BUILDING
Atlanta, January 22, 2020 – Chief Justice Harold D. Melton announced today that Associate Justice Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court of the United States will be the keynote speaker at the Feb. 11, [...]