APPEAL FROM PROBATE AND MUNICIPAL COURTS: Appeals are highly technical matters, and there are different statutes that govern appeals from different types of courts in Georgia. O.C.G.A. 40-13-28 provides one avenue of appeal from municipal and probate courts in traffic-related cases.It states:

Any defendant convicted under this article shall have the right of appeal to the superior court. The provisions of Code Sections 5-3-29 and 5-3-30 shall not apply to appeals under this Code section. Otherwise,the appeal shall be entered as appeals are entered from the probate court to the superior court, provided that the defendant shall be entitled to bail and shall be released from custody upon giving the bond as is provided for appearances in criminal cases in the courts of this state. Such bond shall have the same conditions as appearance bonds in criminal cases. The appeal to the superior court shall not be a de novo investigation before a jury but shall be on the record of the hearing as certified by the judge of that court who presided at the hearing below.

ARRAIGNMENT: After arrest, if a person has not been released from jail on bond, they will be entitled to a preliminary hearing. If the person has been released from jail on bond, their first court appearance will be at an arraignment. At the arraignment, the charges against the person are formally read, and one enters his or her plea of guilty or not guilty.