2020 Georgia Code
Title 16 - Crimes and Offenses
Chapter 10 - Offenses Against Public Administration
Article 3 - Escape and Other Offenses Related to Confinement
§ 16-10-51. (For Effective Date, See note.) Bail Jumping

1. (For effective date, see note.) Any person who has been charged with or convicted of the commission of a felony under the laws of this state and has been set at liberty on bail or on an unsecured judicial release as provided for in Code Section 17-6-12 upon the condition that he or she will subsequently appear at a specified time and place commits the offense of felony-bail jumping if, after actual notice to the defendant in open court or notice to the person by mailing to his or her last known address or otherwise being notified personally in writing by a court official or officer of the court, he or she fails without sufficient excuse to appear at that time and place. A person convicted of the offense of felony-bail jumping shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than five years or by a fine of not more than $5,000.00, or both.
2. (For effective date, see note.) Any person who has been charged with or convicted of the commission of a misdemeanor and has been set at liberty on bail or on an unsecured judicial release as provided for in Code Section 17-6-12 upon the condition that he or she will subsequently appear at a specified time and place commits the offense of misdemeanor-bail jumping if, after actual notice to the defendant in open court or notice to the person by mailing to his or her last known address or otherwise being notified personally in writing by a court official or officer of the court, he or she fails without sufficient excuse to appear at that time and place. A person convicted of the offense of misdemeanor-bail jumping shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
3. 1. (For effective date, see note.) Any person who has been charged with or convicted of the commission of any of the misdemeanors listed in paragraph (2) of this subsection and has been set at liberty on bail or on an unsecured judicial release as provided for in Code Section 17-6-12 upon the condition that he or she will subsequently appear at a specified time and place and who, after actual notice to the defendant in open court or notice to the defendant by mailing to the defendant's last known address or otherwise being notified personally in writing by a court official or officer of the court, leaves the state to avoid appearing in court at such time commits the offense of out-of-state-bail jumping. A person convicted of the offense of out-of-state-bail jumping shall be guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one year nor more than five years or by a fine of not less than $1,000.00 nor more than $5,000.00, or both.
   2. Paragraph (1) of this subsection shall apply only to the following misdemeanors:
      1. Abandonment, as provided in Code Sections 19-10-1 and 19-10-2;
      2. Simple assault, as provided in Code Section 16-5-20;
      3. Carrying a weapon or long gun in an unauthorized location, as provided in Code Section 16-11-127;
      4. Bad checks, as provided in Code Section 16-9-20;
      5. Simple battery, as provided in Code Section 16-5-23;
      6. Bribery, as provided in Code Section 16-10-3;
      7. Failure to report child abuse, as provided in Code Section 19-7-5;
      8. Criminal trespass, as provided in Code Section 16-7-21;
      9. Contributing to the delinquency of a minor, as provided in Code Section 16-12-1;
      10. Escape, as provided in Code Sections 16-10-52 and 16-10-53;
      11. Tampering with evidence, as provided in Code Section 16-10-94;
      12. Family violence, as provided in Code Section 19-13-6;
      13. Deceptive business practices, as provided in Code Section 16-9-50;
      14. Reserved;
      15. Fraud in obtaining public assistance, food stamps, or Medicaid, as provided in Code Section 49-4-15;
      16. Reckless conduct, as provided in Code Section 16-5-60;
      17. Any offense under Chapter 8 of this title which is a misdemeanor;
      18. Any offense under Chapter 13 of this title which is a misdemeanor;
      19. Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, as provided in Code Section 40-6-391;
      20. Driving without a license in violation of Code Section 40-5-20 or driving while a license is suspended or revoked as provided in Code Section 40-5-121; and
      21. Any offense under Code Section 40-6-10, relating to requirement of the operator or owner of a motor vehicle to have proof of insurance.
4. Subsections (b) and (c) of this Code section shall not apply to any person who has been charged or convicted of the commission of a misdemeanor under the laws of this state and has been set at liberty after posting a cash bond and fails to appear in court at the specified time and place where such failure to appear, in accordance with the rules of the court having jurisdiction over such misdemeanor, is construed as an admission of guilt and the cash bond is forfeited without the need for any further statutory procedures and the proceeds of the cash bond are applied and distributed as any fine imposed by the court would be.

(Code 1933, § 26-2511, enacted by Ga. L. 1980, p. 387, § 1; Ga. L. 1988, p. 670, § 1; Ga. L. 1989, p. 14, § 16; Ga. L. 1989, p. 623, § 1; Ga. L. 1997, p. 973, § 1; Ga. L. 2010, p. 963, § 2-4/SB 308; Ga. L. 2020, p. 570, § 3-2/SB 402.)

- Forfeiture of appearance bond or recognizance for failure to appear at time fixed for arraignment, § 17-6-17.

- Ga. L. 2010, p. 963, § 3-1/SB 308, not codified by the General Assembly, provides, in part, that the amendment of this Code section shall apply to all offenses committed on and after June 4, 2010, and shall not affect any prosecutions for acts occurring before June 4, 2010, and shall not act as an abatement of any such prosecution.

- For article commenting on the 1997 amendment of this Code section, see 14 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 106 (1997). For article, "Crimes and Offenses," see 27 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 131 (2011).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Section not applicable to juvenile.

- O.C.G.A. § 16-10-51 does not embrace the failure of a juvenile to appear as ordered. In re M.B., 217 Ga. App. 660, 458 S.E.2d 864 (1995).

- Following the defendant's trial for insurance fraud and other crimes, after the defendant failed to return to court on the fourth day of the trial, defense counsel's motion for new trial made in the defendant's absence was ineffective to preserve the defendant's right to make such a motion under the fugitive disentitlement doctrine, which was not superseded by O.C.G.A. § 16-10-51. Worthen v. State, 342 Ga. App. 612, 804 S.E.2d 139 (2017), cert. denied, 2018 Ga. LEXIS 218 (Ga. 2018).

- See Harrison v. State, 201 Ga. App. 577, 411 S.E.2d 738 (1991).

Cited in Burnette v. State, 241 Ga. App. 682, 527 S.E.2d 276 (1999).

Bail bondsman is entitled to restitution of the amount of the bond and costs upon the conviction of the accused of jumping bail pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 16-10-51. 1994 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U94-17.

RESEARCH REFERENCES

ALR.

- State statutes making default on bail a separate criminal offense, 63 A.L.R.4th 1064.