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2018 Georgia Code 17-12-2 | Car Wreck Lawyer

Link to State of Georgia Official Statute 2018 Georgia Code Annotated (sourced from legal.resource.org)
O.C.G.A. 17-12-2 Case Law from Google Scholar Amendments to OCGA 17-12-2

TITLE 17 CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

Section 12. Legal Defense For Indigents, 17-12-1 through 17-12-128.

ARTICLE 1 GEORGIA PUBLIC DEFENDER COUNCIL

17-12-2. Definitions.

As used in this chapter, the term:

  1. "Assistant public defender" means an attorney who is employed by any circuit public defender.
  2. "Circuit public defender" means the head of a public defender office providing indigent defense representation within any given judicial circuit of this state.
  3. "Circuit public defender office" means the office of any of the several circuit public defenders.
  4. "Council" means the Georgia Public Defender Council.
  5. "Director" means the director of the Georgia Public Defender Council.
  6. "Indigent person" or "indigent defendant" means:
    1. A person charged with a misdemeanor, violation of probation, or a municipal or county offense punishable by imprisonment who earns less than 100 percent of the federal poverty guidelines unless there is evidence that the person has other resources that might reasonably be used to employ a lawyer without undue hardship on the person or his or her dependents;
    2. A juvenile charged with a delinquent act or a violation of probation punishable by detention whose parents earn less than 125 percent of the federal poverty guidelines unless there is evidence that the juvenile or his or her parents have other resources that might reasonably be used to employ a lawyer without undue hardship on the juvenile, his or her parents, or the parent's dependents; and
    3. A person charged with a felony who earns or, in the case of a juvenile, whose parents earn, less than 150 percent of the federal poverty guidelines unless there is evidence that the person has other resources that might reasonably be used to employ a lawyer without undue hardship on the person, his or her dependents, or, in the case of a juvenile, his or her parents or the parent's dependents.

      In no case shall a person whose maximum income level exceeds 150 percent of the federal poverty level or, in the case of a juvenile, whose household income exceeds 150 percent of the federal poverty level be an indigent person or indigent defendant.

  7. "Legislative oversight committee" means the Legislative Oversight Committee for the Georgia Public Defender Council.
  8. "Public defender" means an attorney who is employed in a circuit public defender office or who represents an indigent person pursuant to this chapter.

(Code 1981, §17-12-2, enacted by Ga. L. 2003, p. 191, § 1; Ga. L. 2006, p. 752, § 4/SB 503; Ga. L. 2008, p. 846, § 15/HB 1245; Ga. L. 2015, p. 519, § 7-2/HB 328.)

The 2015 amendment, effective July 1, 2015, substituted "Georgia Public Defender Council" for "Georgia Public Defender Standards Council" in paragraphs (4), (5), and (7).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Indigency determination factoring in parents income appropriate.

- While the issue of a defendant's indigency for the purposes of obtaining court-appointed counsel could not be reviewed, it was not inappropriate to consider under O.C.G.A. § 17-12-2(6)(A), along with the defendant's income, the income of the defendant's parents as the defendant still lived at home. Thomas v. State, 297 Ga. App. 416, 677 S.E.2d 433 (2009).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d.

- 21 Am. Jur. 2d, Criminal Law, § 373 et seq.

C.J.S.

- 24 C.J.S., Criminal Law, §§ 2425, 2426.

Cases Citing Georgia Code 17-12-2 From Courtlistener.com

Total Results: 3

ALLEN v. DAKER (And Vice Versa)

Court: Supreme Court of Georgia | Date Filed: 2021-05-17

Snippet: Syrop, a CDO public defender, 2 OCGA § 17-12-2 (6) (C) defines “indigent person” in pertinent

Duke v. State

Court: Supreme Court of Georgia | Date Filed: 2021-03-15

Snippet: the IDA’s definition of “indigent.” See OCGA § 17-12- 2 (6) (C). Mobley testified that, because Duke had

Roberson v. State

Court: Supreme Court of Georgia | Date Filed: 2017-02-27

Citation: 300 Ga. 632, 797 S.E.2d 104, 2017 WL 765894, 2017 Ga. LEXIS 100

Snippet: determining who meets that definition. Id. at §§ 17-12-2 (6), 17-12-24 (a). Roberson contends that the IDA