From the Collection: Lyman Hall court summons

The 2018-2019 Georgia History Festival theme focuses on the U.S. Constitution and this month we are sharing materials from the GHS collection relating to the judicial branch.

Lyman Hall court summons (MS 1486)

With jurisdiction over trials in felony cases, divorce, and land cases, Georgia’s present-day superior court hears both civil and criminal cases. Each Georgia county is divided into one of forty-nine judicial circuits, which has at least one superior court judge. In this original document, the defendant, Layman Hall, was summoned to the superior court in Chatham County to appear on the first Tuesday in October 1786. In Hall’s case, the foreman notes that they found for the plaintiff.