Peremptory Strikes in Georgia Criminal Trials

Georgia law sets a specific number of peremptory strikes available to each side in a criminal trial, with the exact number depending on the type of case being tried, and a separate statute governs the procedural mechanics of how those strikes are actually exercised during jury selection.

How Many Strikes Each Side Receives

O.C.G.A. § 15-12-165 establishes the allocation of peremptory challenges by case type. In a standard, non-capital felony trial, each side receives nine peremptory strikes. In a capital case, one in which the death penalty is being sought, each side receives fifteen peremptory strikes, reflecting the heightened stakes and correspondingly more extensive jury-selection process associated with capital litigation. In a misdemeanor trial, the number is smaller, with each side receiving three peremptory strikes under the cross-referenced framework in O.C.G.A. § 15-12-125. Across every case type, the State and the defendant receive the same number of strikes; Georgia’s allocation scheme does not give either side a numerical advantage over the other.

How Strikes Are Exercised

O.C.G.A. § 15-12-166 governs the mechanics of exercising peremptory challenges once the jury panel has been qualified. The statute establishes the procedural order in which the parties exercise their strikes, with challenges made alternately between the parties as jurors are considered for the final panel. This procedural framework is what actually moves a qualified panel of prospective jurors toward a seated jury, working in tandem with the numerical allocation set out in § 15-12-165.

Strikes Require No Justification, With One Constitutional Limit

A peremptory strike, by its nature, does not require the striking party to state a reason for removing a particular prospective juror. This is what distinguishes a peremptory challenge from a challenge for cause, which requires the challenging party to articulate a specific, legally recognized basis for removing a juror. The exercise of a peremptory strike is otherwise a matter of the party’s own discretion. That discretion is not, however, unlimited: the United States Constitution prohibits using a peremptory strike to remove a prospective juror based on race or gender, a limitation enforced through what is commonly known as a Batson challenge. A brief acknowledgment of that constitutional boundary is appropriate here, but the detailed three-step Batson analysis itself, including how such a challenge is raised, evaluated, and resolved, is a distinct doctrinal subject addressed separately from the strike-allocation and strike-mechanics framework covered on this page.

Additional Strikes in Joint Trials

When two or more defendants are tried together, O.C.G.A. § 17-8-4 allows the court to grant each defendant up to five additional peremptory strikes beyond the baseline allocation that would apply in a single-defendant trial. The court may also grant the State additional strikes in a joint trial, though the State’s total additional allotment in that scenario is not permitted to exceed the combined total of additional strikes allowed to the defendants collectively. This joint-trial provision is a detail frequently left out of general summaries of Georgia’s peremptory strike framework, even though it materially changes the numbers involved whenever a case involves multiple co-defendants tried together.

Unused Strikes Are Simply Waived

A party is not required to use every peremptory strike available under the applicable allocation. If a party chooses to use fewer strikes than allotted, the unused strikes are treated as waived once jury selection concludes; failing to use the full allocation does not affect the validity of the jury panel ultimately seated, and it creates no separate procedural consequence beyond the simple fact that those strikes go unused.

Putting the Numbers Together

The combination of § 15-12-165’s case-type-based allocation and § 15-12-166’s procedural mechanics determines how jury selection actually unfolds in a Georgia criminal trial. A felony trial, a capital trial, and a misdemeanor trial each proceed with a different baseline number of strikes per side, the joint-trial provision under § 17-8-4 can expand that baseline when multiple defendants are tried together, and the entire process operates within the constitutional limit on discriminatory use that applies regardless of how many strikes either side has been allocated.

This article provides general information about Georgia law and is not legal advice. Consult a licensed Georgia attorney about a specific situation.