Controlled Substance Classification in Georgia
Georgia organizes controlled substances into five schedules under the Georgia Controlled Substances Act, codified at O.C.G.A. §§ 16-13-20 et seq. Rather than treating every regulated drug the same…
A lexicon of Georgia criminal statutes
Georgia Criminal Law
The lexicon
150 entriesC
Corpus Delicti Rule in Georgia Criminal Cases
A confession is often treated, in popular understanding, as the strongest possible evidence in a criminal case. Georgia law, however, does not allow a conviction to rest on…
Criminal Negligence and Mens Rea in Georgia
Every crime in Georgia requires more than just conduct that produced a harmful result. The state's foundational mens rea statute establishes that criminal liability requires the joint operation…
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Daubert Hearing and Forensic Challenges in Georgia
A Daubert hearing is the pretrial proceeding through which a Georgia trial court decides, before a jury ever hears it, whether proposed expert testimony meets the reliability requirements…
Daubert Standard for Expert Testimony in Georgia
Georgia's approach to evaluating expert witness testimony changed significantly when the state adopted a version of the federal Daubert reliability standard. That adoption happened in two distinct stages,…
Defense of Others in Georgia Criminal Law
Georgia law allows a person to use force, including deadly force, to protect someone else from harm. This protection operates under the same general statute that governs self-defense,…
Digital Privacy Rights in Georgia Criminal Cases
Smartphones and the data they generate have changed how Fourth Amendment protections apply in criminal investigations. Two United States Supreme Court decisions, both binding in Georgia as federal…
Directed Verdict of Acquittal in Georgia
A directed verdict of acquittal allows a trial judge to end a criminal case before it reaches the jury, but only in narrow circumstances. Georgia law sets a…
DNA Evidence Challenges in Georgia Criminal Cases
DNA evidence carries significant weight in many Georgia criminal cases, but it is not automatically admissible simply because testing was performed. Before a jury can consider DNA results,…
Double Jeopardy Protections in Georgia
Georgia's double jeopardy protections draw on two overlapping sources of law: the state constitution's own double jeopardy guarantee and a statutory framework codified in the Georgia Code. Together,…
Drug Conspiracy and Pinkerton Liability in Georgia
Drug conspiracy cases in Georgia raise a recurring question: when several people agree to participate in a drug trafficking scheme, how far does liability extend to a person…
Drug DUI Prosecution in Georgia
Georgia prosecutes drug-impaired driving under two distinct legal theories housed within the same DUI statute, O.C.G.A. § 40-6-391. The two theories require proof of very different things, and…
Drug Trafficking Mandatory Minimums in Georgia
Georgia treats drug trafficking as a distinct offense category from simple possession or distribution, and the dividing line is weight, not intent. Under O.C.G.A. § 16-13-31, a person…
Drug-Free Zone Penalties in Georgia
O.C.G.A. § 16-13-32.4 creates an enhanced penalty for certain drug offenses committed near a school, layered on top of the underlying drug crime itself. The statute is narrower…
DUI Prosecution Theories in Georgia
Georgia's driving under the influence statute, O.C.G.A. § 40-6-391, does not set out a single way of proving a DUI charge. Instead, it establishes several distinct legal theories,…
Duress and Entrapment Defenses in Georgia
Georgia law recognizes two distinct justification and excuse defenses that are frequently confused with one another despite resting on entirely different theories. Coercion, sometimes called duress, excuses a…
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Early Termination of Probation in Georgia
Georgia law includes more than one mechanism by which a probated sentence can end before its originally scheduled completion date. Two separate statutes govern this area: O.C.G.A. §…
Electronic Child Exploitation in Georgia
Georgia's "Computer or Electronic Pornography and Child Exploitation Prevention Act," codified at O.C.G.A. § 16-12-100.2, targets the use of computers and electronic devices to solicit, seduce, lure, or…
Evidence at Probation Revocation Hearings in Georgia
When the State seeks to revoke a person's probation in Georgia, it does not have to meet the same evidentiary standard required for a criminal conviction at trial.…
Exigent Circumstances and Warrantless Entry in Georgia
Police generally need a warrant before entering a home. Many people assume that any claim of urgency by an officer is enough to justify skipping that requirement, but…
Eyewitness Identification Procedures in Georgia
When a criminal case relies on a witness identifying a suspect, Georgia courts apply a specific due process framework to decide whether that identification can be used at…
Eyewitness Reliability Expert Testimony in Georgia
Eyewitness identification is often central evidence in a criminal trial, particularly in cases where a victim or bystander identifies the person accused of committing the offense. Decades of…
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Family Violence and Domestic Assault in Georgia
Many general descriptions of domestic violence law treat it as a single, standalone offense. Georgia's Family Violence Act, codified at O.C.G.A. § 19-13-1, takes a different structural approach:…
Felon in Possession of a Firearm in Georgia
Georgia law prohibits anyone convicted of a felony from receiving, possessing, or transporting a firearm. This prohibition reaches further than many people expect, extending to a category of…
Field Sobriety Tests in Georgia DUI Cases
Field sobriety tests are a familiar feature of roadside DUI investigations in Georgia, but the legal framework surrounding them is more layered than the tests themselves suggest. Three…