Legal research for Atlanta and Georgia law firms - courts, binding precedent and citations

Short answer: Georgia's appellate courts are the Supreme Court of Georgia and the Court of Appeals of Georgia. A published Court of Appeals opinion is binding when a majority of the judges fully concur in it. For opinions issued before August 1, 2020, the stricter old rule applies: any part where a judge didn't fully concur is physical precedent only. Check the date and the concurrences before you rely on a Court of Appeals case. In federal court, Atlanta sits in the Northern District, and the Eleventh Circuit is based in the city.

Georgia's courts

When a Court of Appeals opinion is binding

Court of Appeals Rule 33.2 was amended effective August 1, 2020:

• Opinions issued on or after August 1, 2020: a published opinion is binding precedent when a majority of the judges fully concur in both its reasoning and its judgment. A concurrence in the judgment only or a dissent no longer makes it physical precedent.
• Opinions issued before August 1, 2020: a published opinion was binding only where all panel judges fully concurred. Any part in which a judge concurred in the judgment only, concurred specially without agreeing with everything in the majority opinion, or dissented is physical precedent only: citable as persuasive, but not binding, and it must be identified as physical precedent when cited.

For older opinions, look at the end of the opinion to see how each judge concurred, because citators don't always show it.

Federal courts in Georgia

Appeals go to the Eleventh Circuit, headquartered in Atlanta.

Citations and statutes

Georgia decisions are cited to the official reports (Ga. and Ga. App.) and the South Eastern Reporter (S.E.2d). Statutes are in the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A.), cited by title, chapter and section, for example O.C.G.A. § 51-3-1 (owners' duty to invitees). New and amended laws are published by the General Assembly at legis.ga.gov.

A fact-first workflow

Metro Atlanta's caseload includes premises liability (including negligent security), trucking accidents and employment disputes, all of which turn on facts.

1. Describe the facts in plain English. Example: "A tenant at an Atlanta apartment complex was assaulted in the parking deck. The gate had been broken for weeks, and there had been earlier car break-ins reported to management."
2. Limit to Georgia, and add Eleventh Circuit and Georgia federal decisions if the case is in federal court.
3. Read binding decisions first, and treat physical precedent in pre-August 2020 opinions as persuasive only.
4. Check treatment before relying on any decision.
5. Read the statute (here, O.C.G.A. § 51-3-1) in the version in force on the relevant date.

LegiMatch returns up to 100 similar decisions for each matter, ranked by a match score that shows how much facts, legal issues, statutes, jurisdiction and recency contributed. Every result is a real decision linked to the court's text. It supports your research and doesn't give legal advice.

Frequently asked questions

What does "physical precedent only" mean in Georgia?

It applies to Court of Appeals opinions issued before August 1, 2020: any part in which not all panel judges fully concurred is persuasive but not binding. For opinions issued since then, a published opinion is binding when a majority of the judges fully concur.

Which federal court covers Atlanta?

The Northern District of Georgia. Appeals go to the Eleventh Circuit, also in Atlanta.

Are Fulton County State Court and Superior Court the same?

No. Superior Court is the general trial court; State Court handles civil cases (often personal injury) and misdemeanors. Decisions from both are appealed to the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court.

Sources

• Court of Appeals of Georgia Rule 33.2
• Judicial Council of Georgia, court structure (georgiacourts.gov)
• Georgia General Assembly (legis.ga.gov)
• United States Courts, court locator (uscourts.gov)