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§ 9-10-165.Case not reached continued

Chapter 10. Civil Practice and Procedure Generally · Article 7. Continuances · Last amended 1933 · Last verified July 17, 2026

In one sentenceO.C.G.A. § 9-10-165 provides that when a case is not reached for trial during its assigned trial term, the case automatically stands continued to the next term — the court’s calendar running out is enough on its own, with no motion, order, or additional showing required from either party.

Full Text of § 9-10-165

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A case not reached at the trial term stands over as continued.
End

Plain-English Summary

Court calendars run out before every case on them gets called, and this section handles what happens to the cases left over. A case not reached at the trial term stands over as continued — no one has to file anything or ask the judge for relief.

The continuance happens by operation of the calendar itself. Because it does not depend on a ground like illness, absence, or surprise, it sits apart from the fault-based continuance provisions elsewhere in this article — it is a bookkeeping rule for an overloaded docket, not a remedy for a specific conflict.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens to a case that is not reached during its trial term?

It stands over as continued.

Does a party need to file a motion for this continuance?

The text does not describe any motion requirement — it states the case stands over as continued.

Does this section require a showing of diligence or good cause?

No showing is described in this section; it applies whenever a case is not reached at the trial term.

How is this continuance different from ones granted for illness or witness absence?

Those grounds require a party to make a showing to the court; this section continues the case automatically because the trial term ran out before the case was reached.

To what term does the case carry over?

The statute does not name a specific later term — it provides only that the case stands over as continued once it is not reached at the trial term.

Amendment History

Orig. Code 1863, § 3455; Code 1868, § 3475; Code 1873, § 3526; Code 1882, § 3526; Civil Code 1895, § 5133; Civil Code 1910, § 5719; Code 1933, § 81-1414.

Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, published by the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, Georgia Code Revision Commission. Last verified July 17, 2026. · Official source
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