2021 Georgia Code
Title 1 - General Provisions
Chapter 2 - Persons and Their Rights
§ 1-2-6. Rights of Citizens Generally

1. The rights of citizens include, without limitation, the following:
   1. The right of personal security;
   2. The right of personal liberty;
   3. The right of private property and the disposition thereof;
   4. The right of the elective franchise;
   5. The right to hold office, unless disqualified by the Constitution and laws of this state;
   6. The right to appeal to the courts;
   7. The right to testify as a witness;
   8. The right to perform any civil function; and
   9. The right to keep and bear arms.
2. All citizens are entitled to exercise all their rights as citizens, unless specially prohibited by law.

(Orig. Code 1863, §§ 1585, 1586; Code 1868, §§ 1648, 1649; Code 1873, §§ 1654, 1655; Code 1882, §§ 1654, 1655; Civil Code 1895, §§ 1808, 1809; Civil Code 1910, §§ 2165, 2166; Code 1933, §§ 79-205, 79-206.)

- Sentencing of defendants guilty of crimes involving bias or prejudice, § 17-10-17.

- For article, "Disability Constitutional Law," see 63 Emory L.J. 527 (2014). For article, "An Essay on Illusion and Reality in the Conflict of Laws," see 70 Mercer L. Rev. 819 (2019).

ANALYSIS

• General Consideration
• Personal Property
• Elective Franchise
• Right to Hold Office
• Courts
• Witness
• Exercise of Rights

Citizen has right to hold office as general rule, ineligibility being the exception, and a citizen may not be deprived of this right without proof of some disqualifications specifically declared by law. 1979 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U79-24.

- The right to hold office unless disqualified by the Constitution and laws is one of the rights of Georgia citizens, and any purported disqualification for holding office must be strictly construed and any ambiguity resolved in favor of the citizen's right to run for and hold office. 1975 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 75-18.

- The time during which an individual resided in an area prior to its annexation to a city is creditable towards the residency requirements for mayor and city councilman of that city. 1978 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U78-42.

- A conviction of the crime of "having liquor" does not render a person disqualified from holding public office under the laws of this state. 1967 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 67-26.

- A person otherwise possessing the qualifications to hold the office of sheriff, as specified by former Code 1933, § 24-2801 (see now O.C.G.A. § 15-16-1), may not be barred from such office because the person is blind. 1980 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U80-1.

- There is no prohibition against one person's holding both the offices of judge of a city court and ordinary of a county (now probate court judge). 1970 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U70-60.

- Where a councilperson is elected from a particular ward, but by the voters of the entire city, the councilperson is not required to forfeit one's office if one moves to a different ward in the same city. 1975 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U75-39.

Deputy sheriff is not required to resign the deputy's office prior to running for sheriff. 1979 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U79-24.

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d.

- 15 Am. Jur. 2d, Civil Rights, § 1 et seq. 16A Am. Jur. 2d, Constitutional Law, §§ 607, 608. 16B Am. Jur. 2d, Constitutional Law, §§ 628, 629.

- 14 C.J.S., Civil Rights, §§ 2, 3. 16A C.J.S., Constitutional Law, §§ et seq., 699 et seq., 721 et seq., 839 et seq., 855 et seq. 16C C.J.S., Constitutional Law, § 1495 et seq., 1610 et seq., 1812 et seq., 1883 et seq. 16D C.J.S., Constitutional Law, §§ 1909 et seq., 2026 et seq., 2410 et seq.

- What businesses or establishments fall within state civil rights statute provisions prohibiting discrimination, 87 A.L.R.2d 120.

Residential swimming pool as nuisance, 49 A.L.R.3d 545.

Validity of statute imposing durational residency requirements for divorce applicants, 57 A.L.R.3d 221.

Sufficiency of courtroom facilities as affecting rights of accused, 85 A.L.R.3d 918.

Zoning: building in course of construction as establishing valid nonconforming use or vested right to complete construction for intended use, 89 A.L.R.3d 1051.

Propriety of awarding custody of child to parent residing or intending to reside in foreign country, 20 A.L.R.4th 677.

Requirement that court advise accused of, and make inquiry with respect to, waiver of right to testify, 72 A.L.R.5th 403.

When is intervention as matter of right appropriate under Rule 24(a)(2) of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in civil rights action, 132 A.L.R. Fed. 147.