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2018 Georgia Code 17-6-56 | Car Wreck Lawyer

Link to State of Georgia Official Statute 2018 Georgia Code Annotated (sourced from legal.resource.org)
O.C.G.A. 17-6-56 Case Law from Google Scholar Amendments to OCGA 17-6-56

TITLE 17 CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

Section 6. Bonds and Recognizances, 17-6-1 through 17-6-114.

ARTICLE 2 SURETIES

17-6-56. Bail recovery agents; requirements; registration.

  1. As used in this Code section and Code Sections 17-6-57 and 17-6-58, the term "bail recovery agent" means any person who performs services or takes action for the purpose of apprehending the principal on a bail bond granted in this state or capturing a fugitive who has escaped from bail in this state for gratuity, benefit, or compensation.
  2. A bail recovery agent must be a United States citizen, 25 years of age or older, and must obtain a license pursuant to Code Section 16-11-129.
  3. Any sheriff of a county shall require any professional bondsman who is a resident of or doing business in the sheriff's county to register his or her bail recovery agents in that county. The professional bondsman must submit to the sheriff, in a form and manner to be determined by the sheriff, a list of all bail recovery agents whose services may be used by such bondsman.

(Code 1981, §17-6-56, enacted by Ga. L. 1999, p. 546, § 1.1.)

Law reviews.

- For note on 1999 enactment of §§ 17-6-56 to17-6-58, see 16 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 106 (1999).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Vicarious liability for failure to register.

- When a bond recovery agent was registered as an agent in Fulton County in 2000 but had not renewed that registration for 2001 when the agent apprehended in that county a principal on a bond issued by a professional bondsman who employed the agent, the failure of the county to maintain a system for the registration of individual agents precluded a successful prosecution of the agent for violating O.C.G.A. § 17-6-58, and the agent could not be held vicariously liable for the bondsman's alleged failure to register the agent in violation of O.C.G.A. § 17-6-56(c). Additionally, O.C.G.A. § 17-6-58(a) did not provide the agent with fair notice that the agent could be held criminally responsible for acting as a bail recovery agent in Fulton County if the agent failed to renew the agent's registration in that county. Perkins v. State, 277 Ga. 323, 588 S.E.2d 719 (2003).

Cases Citing O.C.G.A. § 17-6-56

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Perkins v. State, 588 S.E.2d 719 (Ga. 2003).

Cited 16 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Nov 10, 2003 | 277 Ga. 323, 2003 Fulton County D. Rep. 3326

...546 et seq. The purpose of the statute was to codify several provisions, including OCGA § 17-6-58(a), which, as previously noted, makes it a crime for an agent to act without registering with the local sheriff. The 1999 legislation also enacted OCGA § 17-6-56(c), pursuant to which [a]ny sheriff of a county shall require any professional bondsman who is a resident of or doing business in the sheriff's county to register his or her bail recovery agents in that county....
...il recovery agents whose services may be used by such bondsman. Thus, the law contemplates two separate and distinct registration requirements. OCGA § 17-6-58(a) mandates direct registration by individual bail recovery agents, such as Perkins. OCGA § 17-6-56(c) relates to the indirect registration of agents by the professional bondsmen who employ them, such as FFAB....
...iance with OCGA § 17-6-58(a), register directly with the Fulton County Sheriff. Instead, the system maintained by the Sheriff contemplates only the indirect registration of agents by professional bondsmen in accordance with the requirements of OCGA § 17-6-56(c)....
...or the failure of FFAB to comply with its duty to register him with the sheriff. However, OCGA § 17-6-58(a) does not purport to impose criminal liability on the agent for the professional bondsman's violation of the independent duty imposed by OCGA § 17-6-56(c)....
...Thus, the failure of Fulton County to maintain a system for the registration of individual agents precludes a successful prosecution of Perkins for violating OCGA § 17-6-58(a), and he cannot be held vicariously liable for FFAB's alleged violation of OCGA § 17-6-56(c)....
...t determine whether an agent continues to meet the qualifications to serve in that capacity. Even conceding the reasonableness of a renewal requirement, however, the statutes do not confer any discretionary authority on a sheriff to impose one. OCGA § 17-6-56(c) authorizes the sheriff to require FFAB to register its agents in Fulton County....