Caselaw Publishing History

• None published before 1824
• 3 nominatives for 1805-1837
• Georgia Reports from 1845
• Georgia Appeals Reports from 1907
• Federal cases:  Find in the Federal reporters (F.3d and F.Supp. 2d)
  • 11th Circuit established 1981; previously in the 5th Circuit
  • 3 District Courts
  • Georgia Federal District Court map

Judicial System

• Supreme Court
• Court of Appeals
• Superior Courts
• State Courts
• Juvenile Courts
• Probate Courts
• Magistrate Courts
• A few municipal courts
• Georgia Courts System diagram
  • With links to courts
  • Map of Georgia districts and circuits

Caselaw in Print

• Find print reporters at Emory in the King & Spalding Room (3d floor)
• Official:
  • Georgia Reports (Ga.) – Ga. Supreme Court (from 1846)
  • Georgia Appeals Reports (Ga. App.)  (from 1907); Court of Appeals created by constitutional amendment 1906
  • No headnotes
  • Published by West since 2008

• South Eastern Reporter, Georgia Cases (West) (from 1939)
  • Georgia cases from the South Eastern Reporter, with the S.E.2d page numbers and West key numbers and headnotes
• Georgia Supreme Court records in Georgia Archives
  • Finding aids for Supreme Court records (1846-1992) on the Archives website

Citations

•  Georgia courts – cite to official & regional
  • Ex:  Smith v. State, 281 Ga. 185, 640 S.E.2d 1 (2006)
• Shepard’s GA Citations – statutes & cases, parallel citations
• Westlaw & Lexis:  include both citations
• West’s South Eastern Reporter, Georgia Cases includes both citations
• Parallel citations:
  • GA Digest Table of Cases

Finding Georgia Caselaw

•  Georgia Digest (West)
  • 2nd series from 1942
  • Annotations, includes Georgia & Federal Courts

• Annotated codes
• Georgia legal encyclopedias & treatises

Georgia Caselaw Online

• Lexis (Georgia cases, from 1846)
• Westlaw (GA-CS, from 1846)
  • Georgia Civil Trial Court filings on Westlaw in GA-FILING
• Fastcase: Search Georgia court opinions
  • Free with Georgia bar membership, Emory subscription for Emory students
• Published Georgia cases are available on Google Scholar
• Georgia Supreme Court website
• • Recent  Supreme Court opinions & summaries (browse by month), forthcoming opinion summaries, docket info, oral argument summaries
• LLMC
  • PDF images of historical reporters
  • Citation needed
  • Georgia Supreme Court Reports volumes 1-155 (1846-1923)
  • Georgia Reports Annotated (1805-1843)
  • Georgia Appeals Reports volumes 1-29 (1907-1922)

Current Caselaw

•  Daily Report (Fulton County Daily Report)
• Opinions Weekly full-text, GA Supreme Court & Court of Appeals, by topic, now online only (with password)
• Electronic Resources, password required for full-text access(from 1998)
• Available on Lexis 1996-current
• Advance sheets (West & Official reporters)
• Advance Annotation Service (OCGA) New cases & secondary source annotations of the Code before annual pocket part is published

Trial Courts

• Not officially reported or published
• Westlaw trial court orders for Georgia
• 
  
• Daily Report news, calendars (Fulton Co.)
• Clerk’s office files
• Some court dockets on Westlaw, some on the web
• Administrative Office of Georgia Courts website with info, forms & links 

Court Rules

• Rules of the Supreme Court of Georgia, Rules of the Court of Appeals of GA
• Uniform Rules for Superior and State Courts
• Rules volumes in King & Spalding Georgia Room
  • West’s GA Court Rules & Procedure (federal & state volumes)
  • GA Rules of Court Annotated (LEXIS)
  • GA Court Manual Rules & Regulations Annotated (Darby)
    
  • West’s Georgia Code Annotated court rules volumes
    • Includes state court rules, bar rules, case & secondary source annotations, forms, advisory committee notes, history notes, indexes

• Administrative Office of the Georgia Courts
  • All court rules online
• Supreme Court website
• Court of Appeals website
• LLRX:  Fed., state court rules & forms http://www.llrx.com/courtrules
• Lexis (Georgia Court Rules) & Westlaw (GA-RULES)