1.) The cases going before the Georgia Supreme Court are supposed to be changing. It's been recommended, that the court no longer hear divorce and alimony cases, or those that involve wills, titles to land and boundary line disputes. Those cases are to shifted to the Georgia Court of Appeals. (This realignment should bring Georgia in line with other states, which have their Supreme Courts handle only the most critical, potentially law-changing cases, according to the Georgia Appellate Jurisdiction Review Commission appointed by Gov. Nathan Deal.)
2). The Georgia Supreme Court would then preside in constitutional challenges to laws passed by the General Assembly, on questions from the federal courts about Georgia law, in election contests, in murder and death penalty cases, and in cases in which the Court of Appeals judges are equally divided. Additionally, the Supreme Court would consider appeals of decisions from the state Court of Appeals.
3). New tools and new facilities are expected as part of the court's modernization. These include a first-ever new building dedicated to the judiciary, and a uniform statewide electronic filing and retrieval system so lawyers can file and access data, as well expanded use of videoconferencing for prisoner hearings.
* Hugh Thompson, chief justice of the Georgia Supreme Court, spoke on the State of the Judiciary to a joint session of the state House and Senate on Thursday. Read his prepared remarks.
