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2018 Georgia Code 16-4-7 | Car Wreck Lawyer

TITLE 16 CRIMES AND OFFENSES

Section 4. Criminal Attempt, Conspiracy, and Solicitation, 16-4-1 through 16-4-10.

ARTICLE 3 ALIBI

16-4-7. Criminal solicitation.

  1. A person commits the offense of criminal solicitation when, with intent that another person engage in conduct constituting a felony, he solicits, requests, commands, importunes, or otherwise attempts to cause the other person to engage in such conduct.
  2. A person convicted of the offense of criminal solicitation to commit a felony shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than three years. A person convicted of the offense of criminal solicitation to commit a crime punishable by death or by life imprisonment shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than five years.
  3. It is no defense to a prosecution for criminal solicitation that the person solicited could not be guilty of the crime solicited.
  4. The provisions of subsections (a) through (c) of this Code section are cumulative and shall not supersede any other penal law of this state.

(Code 1933, §§ 26-1007, 26-1008, 26-1009, enacted by Ga. L. 1978, p. 903, § 1.)

Law reviews.

- For article surveying developments in Georgia constitutional law from mid-1980 through mid-1981, see 33 Mercer L. Rev. 51 (1981).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Section is not overbroad as encompassing protected speech.

- Former Code 1933, § 26-1007 prohibits only such language as creates a clear and present danger of a felony being committed and is therefore not overbroad as encompassing protected speech. State v. Davis, 246 Ga. 761, 272 S.E.2d 721 (1980) (see O.C.G.A. § 16-4-7).

Clear and present danger of perpetration of felony by person solicited.

- Phrase "or otherwise attempts to cause such other person to engage in such conduct" is construed as meaning or otherwise creates a clear and present danger of such other person perpetrating a felony. State v. Davis, 246 Ga. 761, 272 S.E.2d 721 (1980).

Nature of statement constituting solicitation.

- Only a relatively overt statement or request intended to bring about action on part of another person will bring defendant within statute. State v. Davis, 246 Ga. 761, 272 S.E.2d 721 (1980).

Words alone, regardless of degree of their insulting nature, will not in any case justify excitement of passion so as to reduce crime for murder to manslaughter where killing is done solely on account of the indignation aroused by use of opprobrious words. Brooks v. State, 249 Ga. 583, 292 S.E.2d 694 (1982).

Drug trafficking.

- Defendant's exercise of control over an attempted sale of drugs to police sufficiently supported defendant's conviction for criminal solicitation to commit trafficking. Forrester v. State, 255 Ga. App. 456, 565 S.E.2d 825 (2002).

Solicitation to commit murder.

- Evidence that a defendant gave a detective checks for $7,000 to kill the defendant's uncle and described the defendant's uncle's location was sufficient to support the defendant's convictions for criminal attempt to commit murder and solicitation of murder. Impossibility was not a defense, although the uncle was through airport security and there were no funds in the defendant's account, because the defendant believed that the hit could take place and that the checks would persuade the supposed hit man to commit the murder. Rana v. State, 304 Ga. App. 750, 697 S.E.2d 867, cert. denied, No. S10C1764, 2010 Ga. LEXIS 922 (Ga.); cert. denied, U.S. , 131 S. Ct. 156, 178 L. Ed. 2d 93 (2010).

Solicitation is not a lesser included offense of trafficking in methamphetamine in violation of O.C.G.A. § 16-13-31(e), as the facts necessary to prove each offense are different. Dimas v. State, 276 Ga. App. 245, 622 S.E.2d 914 (2005).

Trial court properly denied defendant's motion for a directed verdict of acquittal on all of the charges relating to solicitation to commit two murders and solicitation to conceal the death of one of the purported murder victims as the testimony of a witness established that defendant sought that witness's aide in murdering two game wardens who had charged defendant with various hunting violations, that the witness was equipped with a tape device to record defendant's plans and those tapes were presented at trial, which detailed defendant going over the gun to be used and the manner in which the death of one victim was to be concealed. English v. State, 290 Ga. App. 378, 659 S.E.2d 783 (2008).

Jury instructions.

- Evidence did not warrant a charge on criminal solicitation as a lesser included offense within charge of criminal attempt to commit murder where the evidence established without dispute that to the extent the defendant may have attempted to induce another person to commit a crime, defendant went well beyond the mere use of language and paid defendant for that purpose. Norris v. State, 176 Ga. App. 164, 335 S.E.2d 611 (1985).

Trial court did not err in denying defendant's requested charge on criminal solicitation because it was not a lesser included offense in the crime of trafficking in cocaine as a matter of law or fact. Adams v. State, 229 Ga. App. 381, 494 S.E.2d 92 (1997).

Trial court did not err in refusing to charge on criminal attempt to solicit murder since that charge was not supported in law or fact. McTaggart v. State, 225 Ga. App. 359, 483 S.E.2d 898 (1997).

Defendant's convictions on two counts of criminal solicitation to commit a felony (murder) were reversed for a new trial as the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury on the definitions of the words "felony" and "murder" as essential elements of the crime charged. Essuon v. State, 286 Ga. App. 869, 650 S.E.2d 409 (2007).

Trial court properly charged the jury with the entire solicitation statute, pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 16-4-7, despite the state only alleging that defendant violated the statute in one manner in the indictment as there was no reasonable probability existing that the jury convicted defendant for committing the offense in a manner not charged in the indictment. The trial court did not submit the case to the jury upon a theory entirely different from that claimed in the indictment; the indictment used the words "solicit" and "request," as did the trial court in the court's charge to the jury; the trial court's charge to the jury, which also included "commands, urges or otherwise attempts," did not permit the prosecution to prove that a crime was committed in a wholly different manner than that specifically alleged in the indictment; and the trial court instructed the jury that the state must prove the acts were completed as alleged in the indictment, and that the state bore the burden of proving every material allegation of the indictment beyond a reasonable doubt. English v. State, 290 Ga. App. 378, 659 S.E.2d 783 (2008).

After the defendant delivered a package containing drugs to an informant's love interest who was working with police, and there was no evidence that the defendant asked the love interest to engage in anything or that the defendant used language indicating a clear and present danger that a felony would be committed, the defendant was not entitled to a jury charge on criminal solicitation in violation of O.C.G.A. § 16-4-7(a). Dimas v. State, 276 Ga. App. 245, 622 S.E.2d 914 (2005).

Cited in Williams v. State, 123 Ga. App. 9, 179 S.E.2d 351 (1970); Howell v. State, 157 Ga. App. 451, 278 S.E.2d 43 (1981); Washington v. State, 268 Ga. 598, 492 S.E.2d 197 (1997); Lindsey v. State, 282 Ga. 447, 651 S.E.2d 66 (2007).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d.

- 21 Am. Jur. 2d, Criminal Law, § 158 et seq.

C.J.S.

- 22 C.J.S., Criminal Law, §§ 149, 159 et seq.

ALR.

- Solicitation to crime as substantive common-law offense, 35 A.L.R. 961.

Criminal responsibility of one cooperating in offense which he is incapable of committing personally, 131 A.L.R. 1322.

Construction and effect of statutes making solicitation to commit crime a substantive offense, 51 A.L.R.2d 953.

Validity and construction of statute or ordinance proscribing solicitation for purposes of prostitution, lewdness, or assignation - modern cases, 77 A.L.R.3d 519.

Solicitation to commit crime against more than one person or property, made in single conversation, as single or multiple crimes, 24 A.L.R.4th 1324.

Cases Citing O.C.G.A. § 16-4-7

Total Results: 7  |  Sort by: Relevance  |  Newest First

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Patel v. State, 713 S.E.2d 381 (Ga. 2011).

Cited 18 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Jul 5, 2011 | 289 Ga. 479

...ms of the temporary restraining orders; the court also continued the receiverships. The defendants appealed. 1. In Cisco v. State of Ga., 285 Ga. 656, 658, 680 S.E.2d 831 (2009), this Court held that the in personam RICO forfeiture provision of OCGA § 16-4-7(m), was unconstitutional in that, despite OCGA § 16-4-7(a)'s description of forfeiture as a "civil procedure," OCGA § 16-4-7(m) imposed a criminal penalty without the required constitutional safeguards....
...The defendants argue that the opinion also effectively declared unconstitutional all RICO civil remedies other than in rem forfeiture, including the granting of the interlocutory injunctions and creation of the receiverships at issue here. But, this is not so. Cisco decided only the constitutionality of OCGA § 16-4-7(m); it did not purport to rule on any other statutory provision....
...he United States government as requiring a federal gaming stamp under applicable provisions of the Internal Revenue Code or any item described as a gambling device in subparagraph (B), (C), or (D) of paragraph (2) of Code Section 16-12-20. [11] OCGA § 16-4-7(a) reads: All property of every kind used or intended for use in the course of, derived from, or realized through a pattern of racketeering activity is subject to forfeiture to the state....
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Howard v. State, 527 S.E.2d 194 (Ga. 2000).

Cited 18 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Feb 28, 2000 | 272 Ga. 242, 2000 Fulton County D. Rep. 691

...Thus, this Court can narrowly construe the solicitation of sodomy statute to only punish speech soliciting sodomy that is not protected by the Georgia Constitution's right to privacy. See State of Ga. v. Davis, 246 Ga. 761, 762(2), 272 S.E.2d 721 (1980) (narrowly construing criminal solicitation statute (OCGA § 16-4-7) to only embrace language which creates a clear and present danger that a felony will be committed)....
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Sanders v. State, 869 S.E.2d 411 (Ga. 2022).

Cited 14 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Feb 15, 2022 | 313 Ga. 191

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Newsome v. State, 706 S.E.2d 436 (Ga. 2011).

Cited 10 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Feb 28, 2011 | 288 Ga. 647, 2011 Fulton County D. Rep. 429

...terance itself constituted a crime. See Boynton v. State, supra, 197 Ga.App. at 150(1), 397 S.E.2d 615 (conversation was conduct properly treated as a similar transaction because it involved a form of criminal solicitation or enticement under OCGA §§ 16-4-7, 16-6-5)....
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In re Adams, 291 Ga. 768 (Ga. 2012).

Cited 7 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Oct 15, 2012 | 732 S.E.2d 446, 2012 Fulton County D. Rep. 3152

...ms for 18 months. In his petition, Adams admits that he was indicted in 2008 on seventeen counts of false statements under OCGA § 16-10-20, seventeen counts of theft by taking under OCGA § 16-8-2, and one count of criminal solicitation under OCGA § 16-4-7....
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Sullivan v. State, 279 Ga. 893 (Ga. 2005).

Cited 7 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Nov 21, 2005 | 622 S.E.2d 823, 2005 Fulton County D. Rep. 3510

...ther communication device to arrange the commission of his wife’s murder, nor could the State do so. That is because no such crime exists in Georgia. A review of the Criminal Code of Georgia reveals that it is unlawful to solicit murder, see OCGA § 16-4-7 (a); to conspire to commit murder, see OCGA § 16-4-8; to attempt to commit murder, see OCGA § 16-4-1; to commit murder itself, OCGA § 16-5-1; and to be a party to the crime of murder, see OCGA § 16-2-20, including situations where a party “[i]ntentionally ....
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Butler v. State, 266 Ga. 537 (Ga. 1996).

Cited 4 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Apr 8, 1996 | 468 S.E.2d 369, 96 Fulton County D. Rep. 1325

...or Court Rules 31.1 and 31.3 with regard to Small’s testimony. However, the rules regarding the introduction of similar transactions are not applicable. The statements ascribed to Butler were speculation and fall short of criminal acts. See OCGA §§ 16-4-7; 16-4-8. 2....