Georgia's highest court is the supreme court, created in 1845 and consisting of a chief justice, presiding justice (who exercises the duties of chief justice in his absence), and five associate justices. They are elected by the people to staggered six-year terms in nonpartisan elections.
Georgia's general trial courts are the superior courts, which have exclusive jurisdiction in cases of divorce and land title, and in felony cases. As of 1999 there were 175 superior court judges, all of them elected for four-year terms in nonpartisan elections. Cases from local courts can be carried to the court of appeals, consisting of 10 judges elected for staggered six-year terms in nonpartisan elections. Each county has a probate court; there are also separate juvenile courts. Most judges of the county and city courts are appointed by the governor with the consent of the senate.
The prison population in Georgia numbered 45,363 as of June 2001, an increase of 4.0% over the previous year. The state's incarceration rate stood at 540 per 100,000 population. Between 1930 and 2003, Georgia executed 388 persons, 2nd only to Texas. However, in 2003 there were only two executions in Georgia. Executions are carried out by electrocution. As of 2003, 117 people were under sentence of death.
According to the FBI Crime Index, the crime rate per 100,000 inhabitants for 2001 was 4,646.3, including a total of 41,671 violent crimes and 347,872 property crimes in that year.