Next Regular Council Meeting:
December 2008 Meeting
Marriott Atlanta Gwinnett Place

The Judicial Council (OCGA § 15-5-20) is the state-level judicial agency charged with developing policies for administering and improving the courts. The state legislature created the Judicial Council in 1973; in 1978 the council officially became an administrative arm of the Georgia Supreme Court. The council considers requests for new superior court judgeships and makes recommendations to the General Assembly. The Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) serves as staff to the council.

Twenty-four representatives of the appellate and trial courts make up the Judicial Council. The chief justice and presiding justice of the Supreme Court act as the chairperson and vice-chairperson, respectively. The chief judge and another judge of the Court of Appeals; the presidents and presidents-elect of the superior, state, juvenile, probate and magistrate court councils; and the 10 superior court district administrative judges complete council membership.

The full council meets at least twice each year. A primary responsibility of the Council is to advise the legislature and governor on the need for new superior court judgeships. In considering judgeship requests, the Judicial Council seeks to maintain a balance in caseload distribution for each district. Each year a careful evaluation of circuit caseloads, demographics and special circumstances are prepared for each of the judicial circuits. The AOC analyzes caseload data collected by the judicial administrative districts and presents the results to the council for their consideration. The comprehensive data collection effort allows statistical comparisons to be made among circuits based on established criteria: weighted caseload, average filings, number of jury trials, open cases, circuit population and days of senior judge assistance.