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2018 Georgia Code 17-12-5 | Car Wreck Lawyer

Link to State of Georgia Official Statute 2018 Georgia Code Annotated (sourced from legal.resource.org)
O.C.G.A. 17-12-5 Case Law from Google Scholar Amendments to OCGA 17-12-5

TITLE 17 CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

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

ARTICLE 1 GEORGIA PUBLIC DEFENDER COUNCIL

17-12-5. Director; qualifications; powers and responsibilities.

  1. To be eligible for appointment as the director, a candidate shall be a member in good standing of the State Bar of Georgia with at least seven years' experience in the practice of law. The director shall be appointed by the Governor and shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor.
    1. The director shall work with and provide support services and programs for circuit public defender offices and other attorneys representing indigent persons in criminal or juvenile cases in order to improve the quality and effectiveness of legal representation of such persons and otherwise fulfill the purposes of this chapter. Such services and programs shall include, but shall not be limited to, technical, research, and administrative assistance; educational and training programs for attorneys, investigators, and other staff; assistance with the representation of indigent defendants with mental disabilities; assistance with the representation of juveniles; assistance with death penalty cases; and assistance with appellate advocacy.
    2. The director may establish divisions within the office to administer the services and programs as may be necessary to fulfill the purposes of this chapter. The director shall establish a mental health advocacy division and the Georgia capital defender division.
    3. The director may hire and supervise such staff employees and may contract with outside consultants on behalf of the office as may be necessary to provide the services contemplated by this chapter.
  3. The director shall have and may exercise the following power and authority:
    1. The power and authority to take or cause to be taken any or all action necessary to perform any duties, responsibilities, or functions which the director is authorized by law to perform and to exercise any power or authority which the council is authorized under subsection (a) of Code Section 17-12-4 to exercise; and
    2. The power and authority to assist the council in the performance of its duties, responsibilities, and functions and the exercise of its power and authority.
  4. The director shall:
    1. Prepare and submit to the council a proposed budget for the council. The director shall also prepare and submit an annual report containing pertinent data on the operations, costs, and needs of the council and such other information as the council may require;
    2. Develop such procedures as the director determines may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter;
    3. Administer and coordinate the operations of the council;
    4. Maintain proper records of all financial transactions related to the operation of the council;
    5. At the director's discretion, solicit and accept on behalf of the council any funds that may become available from any source, including government, nonprofit, or private grants, gifts, or bequests;
    6. Coordinate the services of the council with any federal, county, or private programs established to provide assistance to indigent persons in cases subject to this chapter;
    7. Provide for the training of attorneys and other staff involved in the legal representation of persons subject to this chapter;
    8. Attend all council meetings, except those meetings or portions thereof that address the question of appointment or removal of the director;
    9. Ensure that the expenditures of the council are not greater than the amounts budgeted or available from other revenue sources;
    10. Hire or remove a mental health advocate who shall serve as director of the division of the office of mental health advocacy;
    11. Hire or remove the capital defender who shall serve as the director of the division of the office of the Georgia capital defender; and
    12. Evaluate each circuit public defender's job performance.
  5. The director shall not:
    1. Provide direct legal representation to any person entitled to services pursuant to this chapter; and
    2. Engage in the private practice of law for profit.

(Code 1981, §17-12-5, enacted by Ga. L. 2003, p. 191, § 1; Ga. L. 2004, p. 631, § 17; Ga. L. 2008, p. 846, § 18/HB 1245; Ga. L. 2011, p. 91, § 3/HB 238; Ga. L. 2015, p. 519, § 7-4/HB 328.)

The 2011 amendment, effective July 1, 2011, in paragraph (c)(1), substituted "director" for "council", substituted "and" for "or" and substituted "under subsection (a) of Code Section 17-12-4" for "by law"; rewrote paragraph (c)(2); in paragraph (d)(2), substituted "procedures, and regulations as the director determines" for "policies, procedures, regulations, and standards as", inserted "and submit these to the council for approval", and deleted ", and submit these to the council for approval" following "regulations" at the end; in the middle of paragraph (d)(3), substituted "policies" for "rules, policies, procedures, regulations,"; in paragraph (d)(10) and (d)(11), deleted ", with the pending approval of the council," following "Hire"; added "and" to the end of paragraph (d)(11); in paragraph (d)(12), deleted "and communicate his or her findings to the council, and" following "performance" at the end; and deleted former paragraph (d)(13), which read: "Perform other duties as the council may assign."

The 2015 amendment, effective July 1, 2015, deleted the former second sentence in subsection (a), which read: "The director shall be selected on the basis of training and experience and such other qualifications as the council deems appropriate."; in paragraph (c)(1), deleted "perform any indigent defense services or otherwise necessary to" following "necessary to" near the beginning and inserted "and" at the end; deleted former paragraph (c)(2), which read: "(2) The power and authority to enforce or otherwise require compliance with any and all rules, regulations, procedures, or directives necessary to perform any indigent defense services; to carry into effect the minimum standards and policies promulgated by the council; and to perform any duties, responsibilities, or functions which the council is authorized under subsection (a) of Code Section 17-12-4 to perform or to exercise; and"; redesignated former paragraph (c)(3) as present paragraph (c)(2); in paragraph (d)(2), substituted "such procedures as" for "such rules, procedures, and regulations as" near the beginning and deleted "and submit these to the council for approval and comply with all applicable laws, standards, and regulations" following "this chapter"; deleted "and supervise compliance with policies and standards adopted by the council" following "the council" in paragraph (d)(3); deleted "and consult with professional bodies concerning the implementation and improvement of programs for providing indigent services" following "the council" in paragraph (d)(6); inserted "or remove" in paragraphs (d)(10) and (d)(11); and added subsection (e).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Responsibilities of Director of Georgia Public Defender Standards Council.

- Director of the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council has broad authority and is responsible for the day to day operation of the agency. The Council's limited responsibilities, to be carried out concurrently with the director, include setting standards, conducting audits, making financial disclosures, receiving funds, providing for legal education, reporting to the General Assembly, and providing procedures for the appointment of conflict council. 2009 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 2009-5.

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d.

- 7 Am. Jur. 2d, Attorneys at Law, §§ 246 et seq., 286 et seq. 21 Am Jur. 2d, Criminal Law, § 423 et seq.

C.J.S.

- 7A C.J.S., Attorney and Client, § 371 et seq. 24 C.J.S., Criminal Law, §§ 2425, 2426.

Cases Citing O.C.G.A. § 17-12-5

Total Results: 4  |  Sort by: Relevance  |  Newest First

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Baxter v. State, 331 S.E.2d 561 (Ga. 1985).

Cited 99 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Jul 3, 1985 | 254 Ga. 538

...(b) The trial court denied appellant's request for funds to hire demographic experts and psychologists to assist him in his challenge to the grand jury selection and jury qualification, and medical experts to assist him in analyzing the physical evidence. While the appropriation of such funds may be authorized under OCGA § 17-12-5, in light of the testimony actually produced as to the grand jury and jury qualification questions, and the nature of the expert testimony produced by the state regarding the time of the victim's death, we find no abuse of discretion in the denial of appellant's motion for funds to hire experts....
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Duke v. State, 856 S.E.2d 250 (Ga. 2021).

Cited 7 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Mar 15, 2021 | 311 Ga. 135

...staff; assistance with the representation of indigent defendants with mental disabilities; assistance with the representation of juveniles; assistance with death penalty cases; and assistance with appellate advocacy. (Emphasis supplied.) OCGA § 17-12-5 (b) (1)....
...and deputy public defenders, “other attorneys” where authorized by local law and funding. See OCGA § 17-12-31 (a). It is clear that “other attorneys” refers to attorneys who do not work in circuit public defender offices. See OCGA §§ 17-12-5 (b) (1) (“The director shall work with and provide support services and 6 The General Assembly also granted the GPDC the general authority to contract....
...ect to civil liability”); 17-12- 32 (“The governing authority of such county or municipality shall transfer to the council such funds as may be necessary to cover the compensation, benefits, travel, and other expenses for such personnel”); 17-12-51 (a)-(d) (multiple provisions authorizing trial courts to order defendants represented by a public defender to pay “all or a portion of the cost for providing legal representation and other expenses of the defense” as a condition of pr...
...Moreover, the General Assembly references attorneys representing indigent defendants in various parts of the IDA without limiting the meaning of those “attorneys” to either conflict counsel or capital defenders. See, e.g., with emphases supplied OCGA §§ 17-12-5 (b) (1); 17-12-6 (a) (3) (explaining that the GPDC may help in “[t]he promotion of and assistance in the training of indigent defense attorneys”); 17-12-11 (b) (providing “the circuit public defender or other attorney who represen...
...maintain appropriate records, which shall include the number of persons represented, including cases assigned to other counsel based on conflict of interest.”); 17-12-33 (a) and (b) (referring to “other attorney[s] at law employed full time by the circuit public defender”); 17-12-50 (2) (defining “[p]ublic defender” as “an attorney employed by a circuit public defender office or any other attorney who is paid from public funds to represent an indigent person in a criminal case”)....
...conflict-free, and that public funds are used in compliance with the statutory scheme.7 The GPDC exercises that oversight not just for 7 See, e.g., OCGA §§ 17-12-4 (b) (requiring GPDC to establish an auditing procedure for the handling of public funds); 17-12-5 (b) (1) (requiring the director of the GPDC to work with and provide support services and programs for attorneys representing indigent defendants “in order to improve the quality and effectiveness of legal representation of such persons”); 17-12-5 (d) (detailing, among other things, the financial oversight duties of the GPDC director); 17-12-6 (b) (1) (establishing the GPDC as “the fiscal officer for the 21 its own employees and the circuit pub...
...at 105 (3). Where, as here, an indigent defendant has elected to be represented by private counsel, the State may — but is not required to — pursue a contractual relationship with the defendant’s chosen counsel to provide public resources to aid the defense. See OCGA §§ 17-12-5 (b) (3) (permitting the Georgia Public Defender Council (“GPDC”) to contract with outside consultants to provide indigent defense services); 17-12-31 (a) (authorizing circuit public defenders to employ attorneys and independent con...
...States Constitution or the Georgia Constitution where trial court followed local procedure for appointing counsel for indigent defendant and there was no showing that counsel was unqualified or ineffective). Moreover, as the majority notes in its opinion, OCGA §§ 17-12-5 (b) (3) and 17-12-31 (a) clearly contemplate that circuit public defenders and the GPDC may make funds available to indigent defendants who are not represented by those agencies at their discretion, to the extent resources and local law allow....
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Georgia Pub. Def. Standards Council v. State, 675 S.E.2d 25 (Ga. 2009).

Cited 4 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Mar 9, 2009 | 285 Ga. 169, 2009 Fulton County D. Rep. 763

...unds made available to the Office, and the Director was authorized to hire those staff employees and contract with outside consultants on behalf of the Council as may have been necessary to provide the services contemplated by the Act. Former OCGA §§ 17-12-5(b)(3), 17-12-123(4) (Ga.L.2003, pp....
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In Re Fee Petition of Whatley, 347 S.E.2d 602 (Ga. 1986).

Cited 2 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Sep 11, 1986 | 256 Ga. 289

...Binder alleged he had represented Williams. Both were familiar with the case. The appointment was made in April 1982, pursuant to these sections. However, in December 1982 and again in July 1985, Whatley petitioned for compensation pursuant to OCGA § 17-12-5 (b)....
...He argued that he applied for appointment as counsel under what is now *290 OCGA §§ 17-12-60; 17-12-61 because these were the only two sections applicable to capital cases and that he is entitled to be compensated under the more liberal provisions of OCGA § 17-12-5 (b)....
...f $99,311.27 should be denied. This order of August 1, 1985 is the subject of the present appeal. Whatley enumerates as error that the trial court did not rule on his petitions of December 7, 1982 and July 29, 1985 to receive compensation under OCGA § 17-12-5 (b) and that the trial court did not conduct an evidentiary hearing as requested in the July 29, 1985 petition....
...We need not consider any complaints concerning the December 1982 order since that order is not part of the record and would not in any event be a proper subject for an appeal over three years after it was entered. Although the court in its July 1985 order does not specifically refer to OCGA § 17-12-5 (b) in its denial of relief, it is clear that since the petition was based on OCGA § 17-12-5 (b) the denial of the petition is a denial of compensation under OCGA § 17-12-5 (b)....
...In regard to the request for evidentiary hearing on the amount of compensation and expenses, the court's order is silent. There was no requirement that a hearing on the amount of compensation be held if the court was correct in its ruling that as a matter of law no compensation was available under OCGA § 17-12-5 (b). However, we find that although Whatley applied for appointment under OCGA §§ 17-12-60; 17-12-61, this does not preclude his seeking compensation under OCGA § 17-12-5 (b). OCGA §§ 17-12-60; 17-12-61, formerly Ga. Code Ann. §§ 27-3001a; 27-3002a, was passed in 1953, Ga. L. Nov. Sess., pp. 478, 479. OCGA § 17-12-5 (b), formerly Ga....
...Construing these two statutes together, we conclude that they are not mutually *291 exclusive and the fact that Whatley was appointed under OCGA §§ 17-12-60; 17-12-61, does not preclude considering whether he is entitled to compensation under OCGA § 17-12-5 (b)....