Rule 9.1.Virtual Events; Court Proceedings

Rule 9. VIRTUAL PROCEEDINGS · Last amended 2023 · Last verified July 17, 2026

In one sentenceRule 9.1 defines “virtual event” to cover telephone-based meetings and conferences, video-based meetings, conferences, and court proceedings, and hybrid mixes of live and virtual participation; lets most civil and criminal proceedings go virtual with the consent of the parties and the court, except trials, which stay off-limits to virtual proceedings regardless of consent; and — absent consent — lists which criminal matters and civil matters, always excluding trials, may still be conducted remotely under Rule 9.2, from bond hearings and arraignments to pretrial conferences and default proceedings.

Full Text of Rule 9.1

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(A) Definitions. “Virtual event” means a meeting or conference conducted by telephone; or any meeting, conference, or court proceeding conducted by video; and shall include any such meeting, conference, or proceeding that includes all participants appearing virtually; as well as hybrid events where there is a mix of live and virtual participation.

(B) Consent. Any event in any civil or criminal court proceeding may be conducted pursuant to USCR 9.2 as a virtual event if it is done with the consent of the parties and by agreement of the court. Absent consent, the following provisions apply.

(C) Criminal Proceedings. All matters in criminal cases, excluding trials, may be conducted pursuant to USCR 9.2 except those for which the Constitution or other law requires in-person proceedings. Permissible matters include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following:

(1) Determinations of indigence and appointments of counsel;

(2) Hearings on appearance and appeal bonds;

(3) Initial appearance hearings;

(4) Probable cause hearings;

(5) Applications for arrest warrants;

(6) Applications for search warrants;

(7) Arraignments or waivers of arraignment;

(8) Pre-trial diversion and post-sentencing compliance hearings;

(9) Entry or change of pleas in criminal cases;

(10) Impositions of sentences upon pleas of guilty or nolo contendere;

(11) Probation revocation hearings in cases in which the probationer admits the violation;

(12) Post-sentencing proceedings in criminal cases;

(13) Acceptance of special pleas of insanity (incompetency to stand trial);

(14) Situations involving inmates with highly sensitive medical problems or who pose a high security risk upon the court making findings as may be required by law;

(15) Testimony of youthful witnesses upon the court making findings as may be required by law; (16) Appearances of interpreters; and (17) Status hearings or docket calls. This rule does not abrogate any constitutional right that requires in-person proceedings. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this rule, a judge may order a defendant’s personal appearance in court for any hearing. (D) Civil Proceedings. All matters in civil cases may be conducted pursuant to USCR 9.2, except trials. These matters include but are not necessarily limited to, the following: (1) Depositions; (2) Default proceedings; (3) Damages hearings; (4) Pre-trial conferences; (5) Show cause (rule nisi) dockets; (6) Motion hearings; (7) Appeal bond and supersedeas proceedings; (8) Traverse hearings; (9) Foreign judgments proceedings; (10) Enforcement and revival of judgments proceedings; (11) Notwithstanding the prohibition on virtual proceedings for trials, the following proceedings related to trials may be conducted pursuant to USCR 9.2:

(a) Pre-trial motions; (b) Motions for directed verdict; (c) Proposed jury charge conferences; (d) Post-trial motions; and (e) Any other proceedings with the consent of all parties;

(12) Primary and election day proceedings pursuant to OCGA § 21-2-412;

(13) Ex-parte applications for Temporary Protective Orders under the Family Violence Act and the Stalking Statute, and subsequent proceedings; and

(14) Appearances of interpreters.

(E) Effective Date. This rule shall be effective for any virtual event taking place on or after March 1, 2023.

End

Plain-English Summary

Rule 9.1 opens by defining what counts as a “virtual event”: any meeting or conference by telephone, or any meeting, conference, or court proceeding by video, including ones where every participant appears remotely and hybrid setups mixing in-person and remote participants. With everyone’s agreement and the court’s, most events in a civil or criminal case can be held virtually under the technical rules in Rule 9.2 — but not the trial itself, which the rule treats as excluded from virtual proceedings regardless of consent. The rest of Rule 9.1 covers what happens when consent for a virtual event is not there.

On the criminal side, trials themselves are off the table for virtual proceedings, and so is anything the Constitution or other law requires to happen in person. Within those limits, the rule lists a long roster of matters that can go virtual anyway: indigence and counsel-appointment determinations, bond hearings, initial appearances, probable-cause hearings, warrant applications, arraignments, plea entries and sentencing on guilty or nolo pleas, admitted-violation probation revocations, insanity pleas, interpreter appearances, status hearings and docket calls, and more. Even on that list, a judge retains the power to order a defendant to appear in person for any hearing, and nothing in the rule takes away a constitutional right to be there physically.

Civil cases follow the same basic structure — everything but trial is fair game — with its own list: depositions, default proceedings, damages hearings, pretrial conferences, show cause dockets, motion hearings, appeal bond and supersedeas proceedings, and enforcement of judgments, among others. The rule carves out a special category of trial-adjacent proceedings that can still go virtual even though the trial itself cannot: pretrial motions, motions for directed verdict, proposed jury charge conferences, post-trial motions, and — with everyone’s consent — anything else connected to the trial.

All of this took effect for virtual events happening on or after March 1, 2023, the date of the rule’s most recent amendment; the rule was originally adopted effective July 15, 2004.

Frequently Asked Questions

What counts as a “virtual event” under this rule?

Any meeting or conference by telephone, or any meeting, conference, or court proceeding by video, including events where all participants appear virtually and hybrid events mixing live and virtual participation.

Can any court proceeding be held virtually with everyone’s agreement?

Most can. Any event in a civil or criminal proceeding may be conducted as a virtual event under Rule 9.2 with the consent of the parties and agreement of the court — except the trial itself, which the rule excludes from virtual proceedings even with consent.

Can a criminal trial be conducted virtually?

No. The rule excludes trials from virtual proceedings, in both civil and criminal cases, regardless of consent.

Can a judge still require a criminal defendant to appear in person?

Yes. Notwithstanding the rule, a judge may order a defendant’s personal appearance in court for any hearing.

Which trial-related civil proceedings can still be held virtually even though the trial cannot?

Pretrial motions, motions for directed verdict, proposed jury charge conferences, post-trial motions, and other proceedings with the consent of all parties.

Amendment History

Adopted effective July 15, 2004 amended effective March 1, 2023.

Source & verification. Rule text and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Uniform Superior Court Rules, published by the Council of Superior Court Judges of Georgia. Last verified July 17, 2026. · Official source

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