TITLE 17 CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

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

ARTICLE 1 GEORGIA PUBLIC DEFENDER COUNCIL

17-12-7. Councilmembers; responsibilities; voting; removal; quorum; meetings; officers; expenses.

1. All members of the council shall at all times act in the best interest of indigent defendants who are receiving legal representation under the provisions of this chapter.
2. All members of the council shall be entitled to vote on any matter coming before the council unless otherwise provided by law or by rules adopted by the council concerning conflicts of interest.
3. Each member of the council shall serve until a successor has been appointed. Removal of councilmembers shall be for cause and shall be in accordance with policies and procedures adopted by the council.
4. Unless otherwise provided in this article, a quorum shall be a majority of the members of the council who are then in office, and decisions of the council shall be by majority vote of the members present, except that a majority of the entire council shall be required to approve the appointment of the chairperson and for annual approval of an alternative delivery system pursuant to Code Section 17-12-36 and other matters as set forth in Code Section 17-12-36. The vote of two-thirds of the members of the entire council shall be required to remove the chairperson of the council or to overturn the director's decision regarding the removal of a circuit public defender.
5. The council shall meet at least semiannually and at such other times and places as it deems necessary or convenient for the performance of its duties.
6. The council shall elect a chairperson and such officers from the members of the council as it deems necessary and shall adopt such rules for the transaction of its business as it desires. The chairperson and officers shall serve for a term of two years and may be removed without cause by a vote of two-thirds of the members of the entire council and for cause by a majority vote of the entire council. The chairperson shall retain a vote on all matters except those in which the chairperson has a conflict of interest or the removal of the chairperson for cause. The council shall keep and maintain minutes of all council meetings.
7. The members of the council shall receive no compensation for their services but shall be reimbursed for their actual expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as members of the council. Any expenses incurred by the council shall be paid from the general operating budget of the council.

(Code 1981, §17-12-7, enacted by Ga. L. 2003, p. 191, § 1; Ga. L. 2011, p. 91, § 4/HB 238; Ga. L. 2014, p. 866, § 17/SB 340; Ga. L. 2015, p. 519, § 7-6/HB 328.)

The 2014 amendment, effective April 29, 2014, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, revised language in subsection (c).

The 2015 amendment, effective July 1, 2015, substituted "semiannually" for "quarterly" in subsection (e).

The 2011 amendment, effective July 1, 2011, in subsection (d), substituted "shall be required to approve the appointment of the chairperson and for annual approval of" for "must approve the appointment or removal of the chairperson or removal of a circuit public defender for cause pursuant to Code Section 17-12-20 and" and added the second sentence.