O.C.G.A.

O.C.G.A. § 40-13-2.1 (2019)

Signature on citations required; effect of failure to sign; exemption for out-of-state drivers; electronic capture of signature

✓ O.C.G.A. — 2019 edition (Public.Resource.Org Release 73)

Code text and O.C.G.A. statutory annotations on this page reflect the 2019 Official Code of Georgia Annotated (Public.Resource.Org Release 73, 2019-08-21; public domain per Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). The Syfert case-law annotations in Notes of Decisions, below, are current.

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section GA-LEGlegis.ga.gov (official) JustiaJustia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

(a) A person who is issued a citation as provided in this chapter or Code Section 17-6-11, relating to display of driver’s license in lieu of

bail, shall sign the citation to acknowledge receipt of the citation and of his or her obligation to appear for trial. The officer shall advise the person that signing the citation is not an admission of guilt and that failure to sign will result in the person having to post a cash bond. If the person refuses to sign the citation, it shall constitute reasonable cause to believe that the person will not appear at trial and the officer may bring the person before a judicial officer or traffic violations bureau to post a bond as is otherwise provided by law. (b) The provisions of subsection (a) of Code Section 17-6-11 shall not apply to a person in possession of a driver’s license issued by a state or foreign country that has not entered into a reciprocal agreement regarding the operation of motor vehicles with this state as provided in Chapter 5 of Title 40, which provides for the suspension of a driver’s license by the other state or foreign country of a person who fails to appear for trial of a traffic offense committed in this state. (c) The signature of any person to whom a citation is issued may be captured electronically.

History

(Code 1981, § 40-13-2.1, enacted by Ga. L. 2000, p. 1313, § 5; Ga. L. 2010, p. 932, § 25/HB 396.)

Annotations

JUDICIAL DECISIONS Procedures after failure to sign. - Trial court did not err in granting the defendant’s motion to suppress evidence because the defendant’s arrest was illegal. After electing to issue a traffic citation, a deputy could not make a custodial arrest of the defendant when the defendant refused to sign the citation; the deputy had

to follow the procedures in O.C.G.A. § 40-13-2.1(a) of advising the defendant that signing the citation would not be an admission of guilt or that, if the defendant refused to sign, the defendant would need to post a cash bond. State v. Torres, 290 Ga. App. 804, 660 S.E.2d 763 (2008).

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 4 cases, 2008–2018 · leading case: Watkins v. Latif, 744 S.E.2d 860 (Ga. Ct. App. 2013).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Watkins v. Latif, 744 S.E.2d 860 (Ga. Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 16× “He asserts that a police officer has a ministerial duty to not arrest someone for refusing to sign a citation, and therefore Latif is not entitled to immunity for arresting him under these circumstances, citing OCGA § 40-13-2.1 and State v. Torres, 290 Ga.”

State v. Torres, 660 S.E.2d 763 (Ga. Ct. App. 2008). · cites it 10× “Specifically, Torres argued that OCGA § 40-13-2.1 (a) sets forth the procedures to be followed when a person refuses to sign a traffic citation and that Dyer’s failure to comply with the requirements of that statute rendered his arrest illegal.”

Lanier Watkins v. Usman Latif (Ga. Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 16× “He asserts that a police officer has a ministerial duty to not arrest someone for refusing to sign a citation, and therefore Latif is not entitled to immunity for arresting him under these circumstances, citing OCGA § 40-13-2.1 and State v. Torres, 290 Ga.”

George Alston v. City of Darien (11th Cir. 2018). “§ 17-6-11, and that after Alston signed the citation, Brown no longer had authority to arrest him because signing the citation was the equivalent of posting bail, see O.C.G.A. § 40-13-2.1. Alston’s argument fails.”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.