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2018 Georgia Code 17-10-17 | Car Wreck Lawyer

Link to State of Georgia Official Statute 2018 Georgia Code Annotated (sourced from legal.resource.org)
O.C.G.A. 17-10-17 Case Law from Google Scholar Amendments to OCGA 17-10-17

TITLE 17 CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

Section 10. Sentence and Punishment, 17-10-1 through 17-10-71.

ARTICLE 1 PROCEDURE FOR SENTENCING AND IMPOSITION OF PUNISHMENT

17-10-17. Sentencing of defendants guilty of crimes involving bias or prejudice; circumstances; parole.

  1. Subject to the notice requirement provided in Code Section 17-10-18 and in enhancement of the penalty imposed, if the trier of fact determines beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant intentionally selected any victim or any property of the victim as the object of the offense because of bias or prejudice, the judge imposing sentence shall:
    1. If the offense for which the defendant was convicted is a misdemeanor, increase the sentence and the fine normally imposed by the court through court policy or voluntary sentencing guidelines by 50 percent up to the maximum authorized by law;
    2. If the offense for which the defendant was convicted is a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature, increase the sentence and fine normally imposed by the court through court policy or voluntary sentencing guidelines by 50 percent up to the maximum authorized by law; or
    3. If the offense for which the defendant was convicted is a felony, increase the sentence normally imposed by the court through court policy or voluntary sentencing guidelines by up to five years, not to exceed the maximum authorized by law.
  2. The judge shall state when the judge imposes the sentence the amount of the increase of the sentence based on the application of subsection (a) of this Code section.
  3. Any person convicted of a felony and given an enhanced sentence under this Code section shall not be eligible for any form of parole or early release until such person has served at least 90 percent of the sentence imposed by the sentencing court.

(Code 1981, §17-10-17, enacted by Ga. L. 2000, p. 224, § 1.)

Code Commission notes.

- Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2000, "Code section" was substituted for "Act" and "90 percent" was substituted for "90%" in subsection (c).

Editor's notes.

- Ga. L. 2000, p. 224, § 2, not codified by the General Assembly, provided in part that this Code section is applicable to offenses committed on or after July 1, 2000.

Law reviews.

- For annual survey of criminal law, see 57 Mercer L. Rev. 113 (2005); 58 Mercer L. Rev. 83 (2006). For note on 2000 enactment of this Code section, see 17 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 134 (2000).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Section 17-10-17, as enacted, is unconstitutionally vague.

- Absent some qualification on "bias or prejudice," O.C.G.A. § 17-10-17 is so vague that persons of common intelligence must necessarily guess at the statute's meaning and differ as to the statute's application and, thus, § 17-10-17 is too vague to justify the imposition of enhanced criminal punishment for its violation and additionally, § 17-10-17 may not be upheld because the statute impermissibly delegates basic policy matters to police officers, judges, and juries for resolution on an ad hoc and subjective basis, with the attendant dangers of arbitrary and discriminatory applications; therefore, the sentence enhancement that the defendants selected the defendants' victims because of racial bias and prejudice violated defendants' due process rights under U.S. Const., amend. 1, 5, 8, and 14 and the corresponding state constitutional provisions; accordingly, the defendants' sentence enhancements were reversed. Botts v. State, 278 Ga. 538, 604 S.E.2d 512 (2004).

Cited in Palmaka v. State, 280 Ga. App. 761, 634 S.E.2d 883 (2006); Laseter v. State, 294 Ga. App. 12, 668 S.E.2d 495 (2008).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d.

- 15 Am. Jur. 2d., Civil rights, § 21 et seq.

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