Municipal court judges shall be licensed to practice law in the State of Georgia and an active member in good standing of the State Bar of Georgia; provided, however, that any judge serving on June 30, 2011, who does not meet the qualifications required by this Code section may serve as municipal court judge in any municipality so long as such judge is in compliance with Code Section 36-32-27. The provisions of this Code section shall expressly supersede any conflicting local law of this state.
(Code 1981, §36-32-1.1, enacted by Ga. L. 2011, p. 398, § 1/SB 30.)
OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
Member of General Assembly may not serve as municipal court judge.
- While the separation of powers doctrine does not apply when the issues relate solely to municipal officials utilizing municipal powers, it does apply when it concerns a municipal court judge exercising state judicial powers. Because of that, the exercise of those state judicial powers by a legislator would be a violation of the constitutional prohibition against a member of one branch exercising the powers of another branch of government. Therefore, a member of the Georgia General Assembly may not serve as a municipal court judge. 2014 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U2014-2.