What is a Jury? A jury is a group of 12 men and women selected
to make decisions in court cases. There are basically two types
of juries who serve in Habersham County: Grand and Traverse. The
duties of a Grand Jury are to inspect county offices and the
prison in Alto and to indict felony cases based on the
information presented to them by the District Attorney. Once a
Grand Jury has made the decision to indict a person, his/her
case later goes before a Traverse Jury. After the case has been
heard in court, the Traverse Jury then passes its judgment of
"Guilty" or "Not Guilty" on the various charges. A Traverse Jury
also hears civil cases. (Civil cases do not come before the
Grand Jury.) How are juries selected?A Superior or State Court
judge sends a request to the Clerk of Court's office for a
certain number of jurors for the upcoming term of court. There
are two terms of court each year, one starting in January and
the other in July. Each term of court lasts at least six months.
Jury trials may occur at any