Prine Law Group: Criminal Defense in Macon and Middle Georgia
Prine Law Group is a criminal defense and trial practice firm based at 740 Mulberry Street in downtown Macon, Georgia. Founded in 2007 by Joseph R.…
A lexicon of Georgia criminal statutes
Georgia Criminal Law
The lexicon
150 entriesP
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Accountability Courts in Georgia
Georgia operates a network of specialized courts often grouped together under the label "accountability courts," a term that describes treatment-oriented court divisions designed for specific categories of cases…
Aggravated Assault Under Georgia Law
Aggravated assault in Georgia is not a single offense with one set of elements. O.C.G.A. § 16-5-21(a) defines four distinct forms of aggravated assault, each requiring different proof,…
Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon in Georgia
Among the several forms aggravated assault can take under Georgia law, the deadly-weapon form is both the most commonly charged and the one most frequently misunderstood. O.C.G.A. §…
Aggravated Battery in Georgia
Aggravated battery is one of Georgia's most serious assault-related offenses, defined not by how an injury was inflicted but by the type of harm that results. O.C.G.A. §…
Alibi Defense in Georgia Criminal Cases
An alibi defense rests on a simple factual claim: the accused was somewhere other than the crime scene when the offense occurred, making it physically impossible for that…
ALS Hearing After Georgia DUI Arrest
A Georgia DUI arrest sets two separate legal processes in motion. One is the criminal prosecution itself. The other, running on its own track under O.C.G.A. § 40-5-67.1,…
Ante Litem Notice for Government Claims in Georgia
A title referencing "government claims" alongside criminal law topics can suggest a criminal-procedure rule, but ante litem notice is a civil requirement. O.C.G.A. § 36-33-5 and O.C.G.A. §…
Appeal Deadlines and Error Preservation in Georgia
Georgia's appellate process operates on strict, largely inflexible deadlines. O.C.G.A. § 5-6-38 sets the timeline for filing a notice of appeal, and once that deadline passes, the trial…
Assault and Battery Charges in Georgia
Georgia criminal law treats threatening conduct, minor physical contact, and visible injury as three legally distinct offenses, each with its own elements and threshold. Consumer-facing descriptions often collapse…
Assumption of Risk and Consent in Georgia Criminal Defense
"Assumption of risk" and "consent" are sometimes used loosely as if they were interchangeable, but they belong to different areas of Georgia law and operate in different ways.…
Avoidable Consequences Doctrine in Georgia Criminal Cases
The phrase "avoidable consequences doctrine" describes a real and well-established rule of Georgia law, but it is a civil tort doctrine, not a criminal-law concept. Georgia's criminal code…
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Bail and Pretrial Detention in Georgia
Georgia operates a two-track system for deciding who sets bail in a criminal case, and the seriousness of the charge determines which track applies. Many general descriptions of…
Brady and Giglio Obligations in Georgia
Prosecutors in Georgia criminal cases carry a constitutional duty that exists independent of any request from the defense: the obligation to disclose evidence favorable to the accused. This…
Bribery and Public Corruption in Georgia
Georgia's bribery statute, O.C.G.A. § 16-10-2, is built around a two-sided prohibition: it is a crime both to offer an improper benefit to a public official and for…
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Capital Punishment Procedure in Georgia
Georgia authorizes capital punishment only under specific, statutorily defined conditions. O.C.G.A. §§ 17-10-30 through 17-10-44 govern the death penalty process, and a death sentence cannot be imposed unless…
CDL Holder DUI Consequences in Georgia
A commercial driver's license carries a distinct, and more severe, set of consequences when its holder is convicted of DUI in Georgia. Beyond the state criminal penalties that…
Challenging Excessive Bond in Georgia
The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution, along with Georgia's parallel constitutional protection, prohibits excessive bail. A bond amount that goes beyond what is reasonably necessary to…
Child Molestation Charges in Georgia
Georgia law addresses child molestation as a distinct offense from rape, statutory rape, or the electronic solicitation offenses found elsewhere in the criminal code. O.C.G.A. § 16-6-4 defines…
Commitment Hearings and Grand Jury in Georgia
When a person is arrested on a felony charge in Georgia, the case does not move directly from arrest to trial. Several preliminary steps exist to screen the…
Comparative Fault and Criminal Defense in Georgia
Comparative fault is a civil tort doctrine, codified in Georgia at O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33, and it has no counterpart in Georgia criminal law. Understanding what the doctrine actually…
Computer Crime Laws in Georgia
Georgia's Computer Systems Protection Act, codified at O.C.G.A. §§ 16-9-90 through 16-9-94, defines a set of five distinct computer-related offenses. The statute reaches conduct ranging from outright data…
Conditional Discharge for Drug Offenses in Georgia
O.C.G.A. § 16-13-2 gives certain first-time drug possession defendants in Georgia a path toward having a charge dismissed without a criminal conviction entering the record. The mechanism is…
Confession Voluntariness in Georgia Criminal Cases
A confession used against a defendant in a Georgia criminal case must meet a specific statutory voluntariness standard, one that exists independently of, and asks a different question…
Confidential Informant Warrants in Georgia
Search warrants are sometimes based, in whole or in part, on information supplied by a confidential informant rather than on a law enforcement officer's own direct observations. Courts…
Conspiracy Charges in Georgia
Georgia's general conspiracy statute, O.C.G.A. § 16-4-8, criminalizes the agreement to commit a crime when at least one conspirator takes an overt act in furtherance of that agreement.…