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Superior Court

The Superior Court is Georgia's general jurisdiction trial court. It has exclusive constitutional authority to preside over felony cases (except those involving juvenile offenders, in which jurisdiction is shared with the juvenile court) and cases regarding title to land, divorce and equity. The Superior Court also has exclusive jurisdiction in such matters as declatory judgments, habeas corpus, mandamus, quo warranto, and prohibition.

Georgia's first constitution in 1777 established the Superior Court of final jurisdiction for each of the eight counties created that year. Originally one chief justice traveled from county to county holding court. The Georgia Constitution of 1798 designated the Superior Court as the highest court in the state and in 1799 the state was divided into two judicial districts, Eastern and Western. The legislature appointed two judges, one for each district, and they "rode circuit," conducting court in each county at least twice a year.

Until 1845, Superior Court decisions were final. Since that date, they have been subject to review by Georgia's appeal courts and the United States Supreme Court.

The Superior Court may exercise concurrent jurisdiction over other cases with the limited jurisdiction courts located in the same county (state court, magistrate court, and probate court). The Superior Courts are authorized to correct errors made by lower courts by issuing writs of certiorari, and for some lower courts (municipal court and recorder's court), the right to direct review by the Superior Court applies.

Each county has its own Superior Court. Superior court judges are elected to four-year terms in nonpartisan, circuit-wide races. To qualify as a Superior Court judge, a candidate must be at least 30 years old, a resident of Georgia for at least three years, and have practiced law for at least seven years. Superior court judges who have retired and taken senior status may hear cases in any circuit at the request of a local judge, an administrative judge or the governor.

The Judicial Administration Act of 1976 grouped the Superior Court circuits into 10 judicial administrative districts composed of from one to 27 counties. Haralson County is in the 7th Judicial Administrative District made up of seven circuits and 14 Counties in the Northwest corner of Georgia. An administrative judge for each district has statutory authority to compile caseload data and to assign Superior Court judges, with their approval, to serve temporarily in other counties and circuits as needed. The courts in these districts are organized into 48 judicial circuits, each created by the General Assembly. The number of Superior Court judges per circuit ranges from two to 20. A chief judge handles the administrative tasks for each circuit. Haralson County is in the Tallapoosa Judicial Circuit along with Polk County and has two judges. Georgia's 159 counties are currently served by 202 judges.

About Judge Murphy

Judge Mark Murphy has been serving the Tallapoosa Circuit as a Superior Court judge since his appointment to the bench by Governor Nathan Deal in December 2018. Previously, he served Polk and Haralson counties for more than 21 years since his appointment in 1997 as the first Juvenile Court judge for the Tallapoosa Circuit.  Judge Murphy currently serves as the Chief Judge of the Tallapoosa Judicial Circuit.

He was born in Cedartown, Polk County, Georgia and grew up in Haralson County. He graduated from Haralson County High School as a member of the Class of 1978.

Judge Murphy’s service and commitment to the local community’s legal services goes back more than three decades. He began his service as a Deputy Sheriff under Haralson County Sheriff Scott Roberts in the mid-1980s. During that time, he served as a patrol deputy, was certified by P.O.S.T. as a Georgia peace officer, and was appointed by Sheriff Roberts as Jail Administrator for the Haralson County Detention Facility that was built and opened in 1986.

In 1988, he became the first elected Chief Magistrate Judge for Haralson County and was reelected to the office for three successive terms.

After earning a bachelor’s degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Judge Murphy graduated from Georgia State University College of Law in 1992, and began his law practice in Bremen with Murphy, Murphy, and Garner, where he focused on the areas of local government law, personal injury, workers’ compensation, probate, contracts, and juvenile law. He also served as assistant city attorney for Bremen, Tallapoosa, and Waco and as assistant county attorney for Haralson County.

Since 1998, he has been the author of Georgia Juvenile Practice and Procedure, then published by The Harrison Company and now published by Thomson Reuters. The book is Georgia’s primary legal reference source for juvenile law.

A Bit of History

The Georgia Constitution of 1798 created the justice of peace court, the inferior court and the Superior Court. A justice of peace court was provided in each community for the purpose of trying minor civil cases. The inferior court -- a court made up of five justices of the peace for a county -- was established to try any civil case except those involving title to land. The inferior court had jurisdiction over county business matters, such as care of the poor, maintenance of jails, building of roads, and maintaining a register of wills.

A court of the ordinary was created in 1851 for registering wills, granting letters of administration for the estates of deceased persons and issuing marriage licenses. The "ordinary" was given the responsibility of managing county business and, thus, became the chief administrative officer for county government.

In 1868, the inferior courts were abolished, and all of their powers were given to the courts of ordinary, which became the office of the probate court in 1983, when the Constitution was amended. The Constitution of 1877 created county commissioners "in any counties that require them." Gradually county commissioners assumed the responsibilities that they have today -- levying county taxes, construction of county roads, and other county matters. For many years each Georgia county had a sole commissioner; only seven remain with the other 152 counties having boards of commissioners.