Georgia Supreme Court

GA Court of Appeals
Look up dockets (but not case law) on line.

GA Court of Appeals (Findlaw) Case Lookup By Keyword
Can lookup more than one keword, e.g. landlord guest  or quit for better job for Georgia cases on such issues.

GA Code Of Judicial Conduct (Governs Judges)
Look up advisory opinions or click here to download a pdf of the rules that govern all Georgia judges including hearing officers, magistrate and administrative law judges.

Directory Of State Courts (All 50 States & DC)

Suing In GA Magistrate Courts (Georgia Legal Aid Brochure)
Claims of  less than 15K-how to file or appeal.

For Forms See Self Help

Back To Top

Georgia Law Reviews Online

Mercer Law Revew
Allows you to do searches e.g. Landlord Tenant. Many of which are Georgia law specific.

Law Journals (Other Georgia Law Journals-Google)
Lots of schools but far from complete.

Law Journals By Name of Publication (All States)

Federal Courts

Understanding The U.S. Federal Courts  (General Overview)

District & Circuit Courts Links (Nationwide)
Has a map to show you which of the 13 circuits you're located in, as well as links to the appropriate district and federal appeals courts in your region.

Federal Court Forms (Free)
Civil, Criminal, Bankruptcy and other forms used by the federal courts.

The Eleventh Circuit (Fed Appeals Ct of GA)

Surpreme Court Cases From 1760 To The Present

Court Listener
Pulls up federal criminal and civil filings with a main document. Free, no signup, pulls up based on party name can use quotes but would exlude middle name so be careful. For common names, can filter based on jurisdiction, e.g. for GA choose 11th circuit.

For More Forms See Self Help

Back To Top

Small Claims Courts (Magistrate Courts)

How to Sue in Georgia's Magistrate Courts (Legal Aid Brochure)
Filing fees, how to prepare for trial, court addresses and more.

GA Consumer's Guide To Magistrate Courts 
Learn things like: what evidence you need to win, where to file, how much you can sue for, court filing fees, filing an appeal and how to collect your judgment. 

Uniform GA Magistrate Court Rules (Statewide)
Download this 65 page pdf which tells you what you must do in numerous situations to prevail in the GA small claim courts!

GA Magistrate Court Garnishment FAQs (Gwinnett County)
See Their Garnishment Section which applies to all GA counties.

GA Code Of Judicial Conduct (Governs Judges)
Look up advisory opinions or click here to download a pdf of the rules that govern all Georgia judges including hearing officers, magistrate and administrative law judges.

What Should I Do To Prepare My Small Claims Case? (Nolo.com)
More on presenting good evidence to win your case.

How To Sue In Cobb County Magistrate Court (GA) (YouTube Video)
Video is over an hour long.

Liberty Court Forms (GA)
For More Forms See Self Help

Back To Top

Jury Duty & Being a Witness

Jury Duty (GA)
General background information on how a jury is selected, the role of a juror and how they should conduct themselves, the difference between civil and criminal cases and the procedure and sequence of events at trial.

Does My Employer Have To Pay Me While I'm On Jury Duty? (Georgia)
The Georgia Department of Labor says "YES" but there is disagreement based on the official statute compared to a 1989 Georgia Attorney General's Opinion.

Can GA Employees Be Penalized For Their Mandatory Attendance At An Official Proceeding In Another State.
Yes, per GA Attorney General Opinion 95-13.

How To Be A Good Witness (GA)

State By State Laws On Paying Jurors For Jury Duty (DC Also)
Select your state from their map and learn whether your employer has to 
pay you for jury duty and whether you can be fired for serving.

Juror Qualifications & Juror Pay (All 50 States & DC)
Starting at Page 4: Qualifications for jurors and where each state gets it's pool of applicants from. Starting at Page 10: juror exemptions, juror excusals and juror compensation in all 50 states & DC.

FAQ's About Juror Pay, Juror Excusals & Juror Qualifications 
Main source is the same as link above but with a table of contents to guide you.

Jurors' Rights (Lots of Links)


Back To Top

Does My Employer Have To Pay Me While I'm On Jury Duty? (Georgia)
The Georgia sources disagree. Just look at the contradictory information on the various GA state and federal court websites! For courts that refer to the pro-employee Attorney General's Opinion, click here. For the sources (including some courts) which ignore this opinion, click here.

Here's how to argue that the employer must pay you: First, it's the right thing to do. (You were just doing your civic duty and it's not your fault you were legally compelled to miss work.) Second, the cost of challenging GA Attorney General Opinion 89-55 could pit the employer against both the GA Attorney General and the GA Department of Labor! The employer would then lose far more in litigation than if they simply paid you for the time off. (So the juice is not worth the squeeze.) See p.28 of the 2024 GA Department of Labor Employer Handbook (pdf) where it's clear the GDOL enforces this AG opinion.

Further, the federal FLSA may require the employer to pay exempt employees their full salary if the employer tries to dock a portion of your weekly pay due to employee absences. (See below for more details.)  

The Tension Between OCGA 34-1-3 and GA AG Opinion 89-55
The dispute is between what the Georgia statute says compared to a later, more descriptve GA Attorney General Opinion, which interprets the law. While the opinion is not the law, courts can consider it persuasive.

OCGA 34-1-3 reads in part:
It shall be unlawful for any employer or the agent of such employer to discharge, discipline, or otherwise penalize an employee because the employee is absent from his or her employment for the purpose of attending a judicial proceeding in response to a subpoena, summons for jury duty, or other court order or process which requires the attendance of the employee at the judicial proceeding.

But this statute never goes into the details of what it means to penalize. That's where the Georgia AG opinion comes in. Opinion 89-55 states that OCGA 34-1-3 also requires that an employee’s total compensation cannot be penalized for time away from work to serve on jury duty.

In short, the employer must pay your full salary but can still subtract whatever money you receive from the court.

Note, if an employer routinely makes improper deductions from exempt salaried employees, the employer may be in serious trouble. It could transform a salaried worker into a wage worker and make the employer liable for retroactive overtime! Imagine all those hours you worked over 40. If the employer loses in a lawsuit, they would have to pay you overtime for such!

1989 Op. Atty Gen. Ga. 129 (Attorney General Opinion 89-55)

Summary

Under Georgia law, (not the official GA statutes but an AG opinion on the law) you must be paid if you are salaried or earn steady wages. However, your employer can make you forfeit whatever juror pay you received from the courts.  Note: this opinion makes no distinction between full time, part time or contract employees. Nor does it distinguish between salaried workers and hourly workers. It applies to them both. So unless the scope of this opinion is narrowed by a new statute, new court decision or another Attorney General's Opinion, there's no authority an employer can cite for not paying you for jury duty. See also Employment Law Firm Commentary on Federal Law and effect of 1989 Op.Atty Gen. Ga. 129.

 ____________________________________________________________________

November 13, 1989
Honorable Joe D. Tanner
Commissioner
Georgia Department of Labor
Sussex Place
148 International Boulevard, N.E.
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
 

OPINION
This is in response to your recent request for my official opinion as to whether O.C.G.A. § 34-1-3 requires an employer to pay an employee his salary or wages while he is missing work to serve on jury duty. While there is no judicial decision interpreting this law, it is my opinion that the employee's total compensation cannot be penalized for time away from work to serve on jury duty.

Under the language of O.C.G.A. § 34-1-3, an employer may not discharge, discipline or otherwise "penalize" an employee who has been summoned for jury duty. Under the rules of statutory construction, it is presumed that the legislature did not intend for any word or any part of any statute to be without meaning. See Houston v. Lowes of Savannah, Inc., 235 Ga. 201, 203 (1975); City of Gainesville v. Smith, 121 Ga. App. 117, 119 (1970).

Therefore, the word "penalize" in this statute must mean something other than discharge or otherwise discipline the employee. The prohibition against penalizing an employee must mean that the employee would not suffer any financial loss by serving on jury duty.

Even though the employee cannot be penalized for serving on jury duty, it is not required that the employee receive extra financial reward for serving on jury duty. Therefore, even though the employer cannot penalize the employee, the employer would be authorized to offset the employee's salary by the amount of funds the employee receives for jury service so that the combined amounts equal his gross salary or wages.  Therefore, it is my official opinion that an employee serving on a jury cannot be penalized by a reduction in overall compensation.
MICHAEL J. BOWERS, Attorney General
Prepared by: WAYNE P. YANCEY, Senior Assistant Attorney General

Back To Top

Courts In Other States
Superior & State Courts
Federal Courts
Small Claims

Back To Top

Superior & State  Courts  

Directory Of State Courts (All 50 States & DC)

Courts Forms, Rules & Dockets (DC & All 50 States)
This site includes links to over 700 sources for state and federal court rules, forms and dockets. You can browse to find the resource you need, or search by keyword. 

For More Forms See Self Help

Back To Top 

Federal Courts

Understanding The U.S. Federal Courts

State & Federal Court Links (All 50 States & DC)
Also includes some municipal courts and has courts in other countries!

Courts Forms, Rules & Dockets (DC & All 50 States)
This site includes links to over 700 sources for state and federal court rules, forms and dockets. You can browse to find the resource you need, or search by keyword. 

For More Forms See Self Help

Back To Top

Small Claims Courts

Courts Forms, Rules & Dockets (DC & All 50 States)
This site includes links to over 700 sources for state and federal court rules, forms and dockets. You can browse to find the resource you need, or search by keyword

What Should I Do To Prepare My Small Claims Case? (Nolo.com)
More on presenting good evidence to win your case.

For More Forms See Self Help

Back To Top

Self Help
Georgia
Other States

Back To Top

Georgia & Federal

Georgia Statutes, GA Constitution and GA City Codes

Court Cases Using Google Scholar
Put in a person's name or a court case, or search for cases by key words or case citations. Can narrow word search results by adding a state. Check "How Cited" to see how later cases refer to your case and for what principle.

Georgia Attorney General Opinions

Federal Court Forms (Free)
Civil, Criminal, Bankruptcy and other forms used by the federal courts.

United States Code

Code of Federal Regulations (CFRs)

Georgia Hearsay Law (Hearsay-SOS)

Find Your City's Municipal Codes (All 50 states & DC)

GA Forms Corporate Law

Corporate Forms-Georgia

General Forms/Forms For Other States

Federal Court Forms (Free)
Civil, Criminal, Bankruptcy and other forms used by the federal courts.

State Forms (35 States & DC)
Includes Georgia.

Other Legal Resources (All 50 States & DC)

Your State Constitution Online (All 50 States)

Findlaw.com (State laws, resources etc.,)