2021 Georgia Code
Title 16 - Crimes and Offenses
Chapter 15 - Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention
§ 16-15-9. Commission of Offense Admissible as Evidence of Existence of Criminal Street Gang

For the purpose of proving the existence of a criminal street gang and criminal gang activity, the commission, adjudication, or conviction of any offense enumerated in paragraph (1) of Code Section 16-15-3 by any member or associate of a criminal street gang shall be admissible in any trial or proceeding. Evidence offered under this Code section shall not be subject to the restrictions in paragraph (22) of Code Section 24-8-803.

(Code 1981, §16-15-9, enacted by Ga. L. 2006, p. 519, § 3/HB 1302; Ga. L. 2010, p. 230, § 5/HB 1015; Ga. L. 2016, p. 811, § 5/HB 874.)

The 2016 amendment, effective May 3, 2016, in the first sentence, substituted "For the purpose of proving the existence of a criminal street gang and criminal gang activity, the commission, adjudication, or conviction" for "The commission", deleted "for the purpose of proving the existence of the criminal street gang and criminal gang activity" following "proceeding" at the end, and added the second sentence.

- Ga. L. 2006, p. 519, § 7/HB 1302, not codified by the General Assembly, provided that this section shall be effective July 1, 2006, and shall be applicable to all crimes committed on or after such date, and also provided that: "Any offense committed before July 1, 2006, shall be punishable as provided by the statute in effect at the time the offense was committed."

- For annual survey on criminal law, see 68 Mercer L. Rev. 93 (2016). For annual survey on criminal law, see 70 Mercer L. Rev. 63 (2018).

O.C.G.A. § 16-15-9 was declared unconstitutional on the statute's face under the Sixth Amendment's confrontation clause to the extent that the statute authorized the admission of the convictions of non-testifying non-parties as evidence of a criminal street gang; the exclusion of other alleged gang members' convictions in the defendant's trial was upheld. State v. Jefferson, 302 Ga. 435, 807 S.E.2d 387 (2017).

- Trial court did not err by admitting into evidence the defendant's prior conviction for criminal street gang activity as the jury was instructed that the evidence could only be considered for the determination of whether the defendant was currently guilty of criminal gang activity, and not the remaining counts of the indictment. Brown v. State, 300 Ga. 446, 796 S.E.2d 283 (2017).

Trial court did not err in admitting evidence that several months prior to the incident in the current case, the defendant was in possession of one or two guns because the evidence of the incident was relevant to show that while a member of a gang the defendant committed a criminal offense involving possession of a weapon as the defendant was a convicted felon at the time of the prior incident. Lang v. State, 344 Ga. App. 623, 812 S.E.2d 16 (2018).

There was no error in the admission of the defendant's prior acts because each prior act was committed while the defendant was a gang member and either an expert or police officer explained that the prior offenses reflected gang behaviors. Lopez v. State, 350 Ga. App. 662, 829 S.E.2d 862 (2019), cert. denied, No. S19C1467, 2020 Ga. LEXIS 123 (Ga. 2020), cert. denied, No. S19C1482, 2020 Ga. LEXIS 121 (Ga. 2020).

- Sufficient evidence, including expert testimony, supported the appellants' convictions because the evidence established that the appellants were associated with a criminal street gang and that the armed robbery and aggravated assault the appellants engaged in constituted criminal street gang activity and were intended to further the interests of the gang. Lupoe v. State, 300 Ga. 233, 794 S.E.2d 67 (2016).