TITLE 15 COURTS

Section 18. Prosecuting Attorneys, 15-18-1 through 15-18-99.

ARTICLE 4 PRETRIAL INTERVENTION AND DIVERSION PROGRAM

15-18-80. Policy and procedure.

The prosecuting attorneys for each judicial circuit of this state shall be authorized to create and administer a Pretrial Intervention and Diversion Program. The prosecuting attorney for state courts, probate courts, magistrate courts, municipal courts, and any other court that hears cases involving a violation of the criminal laws of this state or ordinance violations shall also be authorized to create and administer a Pretrial Intervention and Diversion Program for offenses within the jurisdiction of such courts. Upon the request of the district attorney or solicitor and with the advice and express written consent of such attorney, the state or local governing authority may enter into a written contract with any entity or individual for the purpose of monitoring program participants' compliance with a Pretrial Intervention and Diversion Program.
It shall be the purpose of such a program to provide an alternative to prosecuting offenders in the criminal justice system.
Entry into the program shall be at the discretion of the prosecuting attorney based upon written guidelines.
The prosecuting attorney implementing said program shall create written guidelines for acceptance into and administration of the program. These guidelines shall include, but are not limited to, consideration of the following:
1. The nature of the crime;
2. The prior arrest record of the offender; and
3. The notification and response of the victim.
No prosecuting attorney shall accept any offender into the program for an offense for which the law provides a mandatory minimum sentence of incarceration or imprisonment that cannot be suspended, probated, or deferred.
The prosecuting attorney shall be authorized to assess from each offender who enters the program a fee not to exceed $1,000.00 for the administration of the program. Such fee may be waived in part or in whole or made payable in monthly increments upon a showing of good cause to the prosecuting attorney. Any fee collected under this subsection shall be collected by the clerk of court and made payable to the general fund of the political subdivision in which the case is being prosecuted. For purposes of subsection (a.1) of Code Section 47-17-60, the clerk of court shall provide the political subdivision all relevant records and completed forms for compliance with such Code section.
The prosecuting attorney shall be further authorized to collect restitution on behalf of victims. Any restitution collected under this subsection shall be made payable to and disbursed by the clerk of the court in which the case would be prosecuted.
No program created pursuant to this Code section shall be construed as a violation of Code Section 15-13-35 or 15-18-26.

(Code 1981, §15-18-80, enacted by Ga. L. 2000, p. 1115, § 3; Ga. L. 2006, p. 420, § 1/HB 718; Ga. L. 2012, p. 899, § 2-3/HB 1176; Ga. L. 2016, p. 443, § 1-9/SB 367; Ga. L. 2018, p. 906, § 1/SB 369.)

The 2016 amendment, effective July 1, 2016, added the last sentence in subsection (a).

The 2018 amendment, effective July 1, 2018, in subsection (f), deleted "and collect" following "assess" in the first sentence, inserted "collected by the clerk of court and" in the third sentence, and added the fourth sentence.

Cross references.

- Authorization to establish and administer pretrial intervention programs, § 34-2-14.

Pretrial release and diversion programs, T. 42, C. 8, A. 5.

Editor's notes.

- Ga. L. 2012, p. 899, § 9-1(a)/HB 1176, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2012, and shall apply to offenses which occur on or after that date. Any offense occurring before July 1, 2012, shall be governed by the statute in effect at the time of such offense and shall be considered a prior conviction for the purpose of imposing a sentence that provides for a different penalty for a subsequent conviction for the same type of offense, of whatever degree or level, pursuant to this Act."

Law reviews.

- For article on the 2012 amendment of this Code section, see 29 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 290 (2012). For article on the 2016 amendment of this Code section, see 33 Georgia St. U.L. Rev. 139 (2016).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Surety not discharged by pretrial diversion program that was not court ordered.

- Bondsman was not released from liability on the bondsman's bond for an accused shoplifter under O.C.G.A. § 17-6-31(d)(1)(C) because of the shoplifter's entry into a pretrial diversion program because the statute applied only to "a court ordered" program, and, in this case, the trial court had no involvement in the program. The enactment of O.C.G.A. § 15-18-80, allowing prosecutors to create pretrial diversion programs, did not implicitly amend § 17-6-31(d)(1)(C) or eliminate court-ordered programs. AA-Prof'l Bail Bonding v. Deal, 332 Ga. App. 857, 775 S.E.2d 217 (2015).

Pretrial intervention program on related charges did not bar prosecution.

- Prosecution of the defendants for theft by taking and criminal trespass in Calhoun County, O.C.G.A. §§ 16-7-21(b) and16-8-2, was not prohibited by double jeopardy based on their prior entry into a pretrial intervention program under O.C.G.A. § 15-18-80(b) following charges of theft by receiving stolen property, O.C.G.A. § 16-8-7(a), in Irwin County because there was no prosecution in Irwin County within the meaning of O.C.G.A. §§ 16-1-3(14) and16-1-8(a)(1)-(2). Palmer v. State, 341 Ga. App. 433, 801 S.E.2d 300 (2017).

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