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2018 Georgia Code 17-7-129 | Car Wreck Lawyer

Link to State of Georgia Official Statute 2018 Georgia Code Annotated (sourced from legal.resource.org)
O.C.G.A. 17-7-129 Case Law from Google Scholar Amendments to OCGA 17-7-129

TITLE 17 CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

Section 7. Pretrial Proceedings, 17-7-1 through 17-7-211.

ARTICLE 6 DEMURRERS, MOTIONS, AND SPECIAL PLEAS AND EXCEPTIONS

17-7-129. Mental capacity to stand trial; release of competency evaluation to prosecuting attorney.

  1. When information becomes known to the court sufficient to raise a bona fide doubt regarding the accused's mental competency to stand trial, the court has a duty, sua sponte, to inquire into the accused's mental competency to stand trial. The court may order the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities to conduct an evaluation of the accused's competency. If the court determines that it is necessary to have a trial on the issue of competency, the court shall follow the procedures set forth in Code Section 17-7-130. The court's order shall set forth those facts which give rise to its bona fide doubt as to the accused's mental competency to stand trial. The evaluation of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities shall be submitted to the court, and the court shall submit such evaluation to the attorney for the accused or, if pro se, to the accused, but otherwise, the report shall remain under seal.
  2. If the court orders a competency evaluation and the accused serves notice of a special plea of mental incompetency to stand trial or raises the issue of insanity, the court shall release the competency evaluation to the prosecuting attorney. Such evaluation shall not be released to any other person absent a court order.

(Code 1981, §17-7-129, enacted by Ga. L. 2011, p. 372, § 1/HB 421.)

Effective date.

- This Code section became effective July 1, 2011.

Cases Citing O.C.G.A. § 17-7-129

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Warren v. State, 297 Ga. 810 (Ga. 2015).

Cited 14 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Oct 19, 2015 | 778 S.E.2d 749

...On March 4, 2013, Warren filed a special plea of mental incompetence to stand trial. See OCGA § 17-7-130 (b) (2). That same day, the trial court issued an order for Warren to be evaluated by the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities. See OCGA §§ 17-7-129, 17-7-130 (b) (1)....

Carter v. State (Ga. 2026).

Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Feb 17, 2026 | 778 S.E.2d 749

...ript of that video, Carter alleged that the transcript had been altered. 2. Carter contends that the trial court erred by failing to conduct an adequate hearing on the issue of Carter’s mental competence to stand trial pursuant to OCGA §§ 17-7-129(a) (2011), 17-7-130(b)(1)(d) (2017), and 17-7-130(d) (2017).2 Without the filing 2 We also note that Carter makes no constitutional claims regarding the necessity for a hearing. 7 of a special plea of mental incompetency under OCGA § 17-7- 130(b)(2), the applicable versions of those statutes 3 did not require the trial court to hold a hearing following the competency evaluation it ordered, and thus, the trial court did not err. Under OCGA § 17-7-129(a) (2011), [w]hen information becomes known to the court sufficient to raise a bona fide doubt regarding the accused’s mental competency to stand trial, the court has a duty, sua sponte, to inquire into the accused’s mental competency to stand trial. The court may order [the Department] to 3 We note that the parties cited different versions of the pertinent Code provisions in their briefs, as some of the provisions were amended in 2025. But the Act enacting the changes to OCGA §§ 17-7-129 and 17-7-130 included a provision stating, “This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2025, and shall apply to any motions made or hearings or trials commenced on or after such date.” Ga....
...8 conduct an evaluation of the accused’s competency. If the court determines that it is necessary to have a trial on the issue of competency, the court shall follow the procedures set forth in Code Section 17-7-130. OCGA § 17-7-129(a) (2011)....
...39, 40 (2014) (“[A] statute is to be construed to give sensible and intelligent effect to all its provisions and to refrain from any interpretation 11 which renders any part of the statute meaningless.”). First, as to OCGA § 17-7-129(a), the statute did not mandate such a hearing....
...The statute contemplated that “if the court determines that it is necessary to have a trial on the issue of competency, the court shall follow the procedures set forth in” OCGA § 17-7-130, but the provision itself did not require a hearing or trial on the issue. See OCGA § 17-7-129(a) (emphasis added)....
... jury trial, if demanded.4 Accordingly, because Carter did not file a special plea of incompetency under OCGA § 17-7-130(b)(2), the court was not required to hold a bench trial as to his competence under OCGA § 17-7-130(d)(1). Because neither OCGA §§ 17-7-129(a) nor 17-7-130(b)(1) required the court to hold a competency hearing following the Department’s finding of Carter’s competence, because OCGA § 17-7- 130(d)(1) is best understood as setting a deadline for a bench trial 4...