GEORGIA’S JUDICIAL
BRANCH
SS8CG4 VOCABULARY
CIVIL LAW
• Involves disputes between individuals or
groups of people. Typically, one group is
seeking money or compensation from
another group. Civil law cases do not
involve criminal activity.
COURT OF APPEALS
• This court is the 2nd highest-ranking in the
state. There are 12 judges elected to 6
year terms. They elect one of their
members to serve as the chief judge. This
court also only hears cases appealed from
lower-ranking courts and they determine if
the proceedings and verdict were fair and
in line with Georgia’s constitution. They do
not have juries or witnesses.
CRIMINAL LAW
• This type of law deals with crimes that
may have been committed and the
punishment that is suitable for that crime.
In a criminal case, a law has been broken
and someone has already been arrested
for that crime.
DEFENDANT
• This is the person who has been accused
of a crime in a criminal court case, or the
person who is being sued by a plaintiff in a
civil case.
DEFENSE ATTORNEY
• This is a lawyer who represents a person
accused of a crime. Their job is to try to
prove the defendant (the person accused)
is innocent of the charges against them.
DISTRICT ATTORNEY
• This person is a lawyer who represents
the government in all criminal court cases.
They argue for the laws of the state and
are on the opposite side of the person(s)
accused of a crime.
FELONY
• This is a very serious crime such as
murder or burglary. The punishment for
this type of crime is more than one year in
prison, a fine of at least $1,000.00 or both.
GRAND JURY
• This group of people decide whether or
not people accused of a crime should be
indicted and made to stand trial for his or
her actions.
INDICTMENT
• This is the formal accusation of a person
who is thought to have committed a crime.
These can not be made without proper
justification. These are determined by a
grand jury.
JURISDICTION
• This includes the geographical area
controlled by a court or government
agency as well as what kinds of cases can
be heard within that type of court. For
example, the Supreme Court serves all of
Georgia and deals with all cases involving
the death penalty and magistrate courts
deal with individual counties and minor
instances of breaking laws.
JUVENILE
• Citizens under the age of seventeen. They
must follow all laws that older citizens
have to follow as well as those that do not
apply to citizens over seventeen.
Examples of these include attending
school and following curfews. They are
also legally required to obey all reasonable
and lawful directions or decisions of their
parents or legal guardians.
MISDEMEANOR
• A crime that is considered to be a less
serious offense. It is punishable by less
than one year in prison, a fine of less than
$1,000, or both. An example of this in
Georgia is Theft by Shoplifting, where the
value of the merchandise is under
$300.00.
PLAINTIFF
• This is the person who initiates, or starts, a
lawsuit in a court. In a civil case, the
plaintiff is suing someone else. In a
criminal case, the district attorney, or the
government, is the one starting the case
against a person accused of a crime.
SUPREME COURT
• This is the highest ranking court system in
the state of Georgia. There are seven
elected justices who are voted in for 6 year
terms. Its main jobs are to review lowercourt cases on appeal and to interpret the
state constitution. It also automatically
reviews all cases involving the death
penalty. There are no juries or witnesses
in this court.
TRIAL COURTS
• These courts hear original cases such as
criminal cases (someone is in trouble with
the law) and civil cases (someone is being
sued, getting divorced, etc.). In these
courts, actions and intentions are judged
to be lawful or unlawful. They are either
decided by a chosen jury, or by a judge.
TRIAL JURY
• This group of people are chosen and
responsible for judging a person who has
already been formally charged with a
crime to determine his or her guilt or
innocence.