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2018 Georgia Code 42-5-18 | Car Wreck Lawyer

Link to State of Georgia Official Statute 2018 Georgia Code Annotated (sourced from legal.resource.org)
O.C.G.A. 42-5-18 Case Law from Google Scholar Amendments to OCGA 42-5-18

TITLE 42 PENAL INSTITUTIONS

Section 5. Correctional Institutions of State and Counties, 42-5-1 through 42-5-125.

ARTICLE 1 GENERAL PROVISIONS

42-5-18. Items prohibited for possession by inmates; warden's authorization; penalty.

  1. As used in this Code section, the term:
    1. "Inmate" means a prisoner, detainee, criminal suspect, immigration detainee, or other person held, incarcerated, or detained in a place of incarceration, whether or not such person is inside or outside of such place of incarceration.
    2. "Place of incarceration" means any prison, probation detention center, jail, or institution, including any state, federal, local, or privately operated facility, used for the purpose of incarcerating criminals or detainees.
    3. "Telecommunications device" means a device, an apparatus associated with a device, or a component of a device that enables, or may be used to enable, communication with a person outside a place of incarceration, including a telephone, cellular telephone, personal digital assistant, transmitting radio, or computer connected or capable of being connected to a computer network, by wireless or other technology, or otherwise capable of communicating with a person or device outside of a place of incarceration.
    4. "Warden or superintendent" means the commissioner or any warden, superintendent, sheriff, chief jailor, or other person who is responsible for the overall management and operation of a place of incarceration.
  2. It shall be unlawful for any person to obtain for, to procure for, or to give to an inmate a gun, pistol, or any other weapon; any intoxicating liquor; amphetamines, biphetamines, or any other hallucinogenic drugs or other drugs, regardless of the amount; any telecommunications device; or any other article or item without the authorization of the warden or superintendent or his or her designee.
  3. It shall be unlawful for an inmate to possess a gun, pistol, or any other weapon; any intoxicating liquor; tobacco or any product containing tobacco; amphetamines, biphetamines, or any other hallucinogenic drugs or other drugs, regardless of the amount; a telecommunications device; or any other item without the authorization of the warden or superintendent or his or her designee.
    1. An inmate who commits or attempts to commit a violation of subsection (c) of this Code section shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned for not less than one nor more than five years; provided, however, that if an inmate violates this Code section while being held pursuant to an arrest or conviction for a misdemeanor offense, the possession of a telecommunications device in violation of this Code section shall be treated as a misdemeanor.
    2. A person who commits or attempts to commit a violation of subsection (b) of this Code section shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be sentenced to a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of two years but not more than ten years, and no portion of the mandatory minimum sentence imposed shall be suspended, stayed, probated, deferred, or withheld by the sentencing court.
    3. A person who commits or attempts to commit a violation of subsection (b.1) of this Code section shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned for not less than one nor more than five years.
    1. It shall be unlawful for an inmate to possess a stored value card, the account number of a stored value card, or the personal identification number of a stored value card.
    2. It shall be unlawful for any person to obtain for, to procure for, or to give an inmate a stored value card, the account number of a stored value card, or the personal identification number of a stored value card.
    3. A person who commits a violation of this subsection shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less than one nor more than ten years, unless the judge imposes a misdemeanor sentence pursuant to Code Section 17-10-5.

(b.1)It shall be unlawful for any person to obtain for, to procure for, or to give to an inmate tobacco or any product containing tobacco without the authorization of the warden or superintendent or his or her designee.

(Ga. L. 1976, p. 1506, § 2; Ga. L. 1984, p. 593, § 1; Ga. L. 2008, p. 533, § 1/SB 366; Ga. L. 2016, p. 811, § 8/HB 874; Ga. L. 2017, p. 673, § 3-3/SB 149; Ga. L. 2018, p. 1112, § 42/SB 365.)

The 2016 amendment, effective May 3, 2016, designated the existing provisions of subsection (d) as paragraph (d)(1); in paragraph (d)(1), substituted "An inmate" for "A person" in the beginning, inserted "subsection (c) of", and substituted "an inmate" for "a person" in the middle; and added paragraph (d)(2).

The 2017 amendment, effective July 1, 2017, added ", whether or not such person is inside or outside of such place of incarceration" at the end of paragraph (a)(1); added paragraph (b.1); inserted "tobacco or any product containing tobacco;" near the beginning of subsection (c); added paragraph (d)(3); and added subsection (e).

The 2018 amendment, effective May 8, 2018, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, substituted "means the commissioner" for "shall mean the commissioner" in paragraph (a)(4); and substituted "provided, however, that if an inmate" for "provided, however, if an inmate" in the proviso of paragraph (d)(1).

Cross references.

- Similar provisions regarding furnishing of alcoholic beverages to inmates of jails, penal institutions, correctional facilities, or other lawful places of confinement, § 3-3-25.

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

"Weapon" defined.

- Jury's finding that a "water bug" (a device used to bring a liquid to a boil), which defendant threw at correctional officers, was a "weapon," within the meaning of subsection (b) of O.C.G.A. § 42-5-18, was not unreasonable. Culbertson v. State, 193 Ga. App. 9, 386 S.E.2d 894 (1989).

Evidence sufficient for conviction of possession of drugs by an inmate. Webb v. State, 249 Ga. App. 214, 547 S.E.2d 767 (2001).

Defendant's conviction for the unauthorized possession of drugs by an inmate, contrary to O.C.G.A. § 42-5-18(b), was based on sufficient evidence as the evidence showed that during a confiscation and inventory of defendant's personal possessions, before moving the defendant to a new cell, a shampoo bottle containing a substance determined to be marijuana was discovered. Collinsworth v. State, 276 Ga. App. 58, 622 S.E.2d 419 (2005).

Evidence insufficient to support conviction.

- Defendant's conviction for possession of drugs by an inmate in violation of O.C.G.A. § 42-5-18(c) was reversed because the state failed to present any evidence to support even an inference that the defendant had any prior knowledge of drugs that were found in a bag or any idea what was in the bag; the state failed to demonstrate that the defendant had the bag in the defendant's possession for any reason other than the performance of the defendant's assigned duties of cleaning the visitation lobby in the prison and, thus, failed to exclude the reasonable hypothesis that the defendant was merely performing the job when the defendant removed the bag from one trash can and placed the bag in the other. Strozier v. State, 313 Ga. App. 804, 723 S.E.2d 39 (2012).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Applicability.

- This section is applicable only when the items referred to are obtained or procured for or given to a convict. It is not applicable if the items referred to are obtained or procured for or given to a prisoner being held in a county jail who has not yet been convicted of any crime. 1980 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U80-12.

RESEARCH REFERENCES

C.J.S.

- 72 C.J.S., Prisons and Rights of Prisoners, §§ 61, 62, 73.

ALR.

- Nature and elements of offense of conveying contraband to state prisoner, 64 A.L.R.4th 902.

Validity, construction, and application of state statute criminalizing possession of contraband by individual in penal or correctional institution, 45 A.L.R.5th 767.

Cases Citing Georgia Code 42-5-18 From Courtlistener.com

Total Results: 3

STAR RESIDENTIAL, LLC v. HERNANDEZ

Court: Supreme Court of Georgia | Date Filed: 2021-06-21

Snippet: in Code Section 42-5-15, 42-5-16, 42-5-17, 42-5-18, or 42-5-19, relating to the security of state

State v. Jefferson

Court: Supreme Court of Georgia | Date Filed: 2017-10-30

Citation: 302 Ga. 435, 807 S.E.2d 387

Snippet: defined in Code Section 42-5-15, 42-5-16, 42-5-17, 42-5-18, or 42-5-19, relating to the security of state

In re Otuonye

Court: Supreme Court of Georgia | Date Filed: 2017-10-16

Citation: 302 Ga. 374, 806 S.E.2d 524

Snippet: Prohibited Items to Inmates in violation of OCGA § 42-5-18. Otuonye, who has been a member of the Bar since