2022 Georgia Code
Title 15 - Courts
Chapter 18 - Prosecuting Attorneys
Article 3 - Solicitors-General of State Courts
§ 15-18-66. Duties; Authority

1. The duties of the solicitors-general within their respective counties are:
   1. To attend each session of the state court when criminal cases are to be heard unless excused by the judge thereof and to remain until the business of the state is disposed of;
   2. To administer the oaths required by law to the bailiffs or other officers of the court and otherwise to aid the presiding judge in organizing the court as may be necessary;
   3. To file accusations on such criminal cases deemed prosecutable and, subject to paragraph (10) of subsection (b) of this Code section, to prosecute all accused offenses;
   4. To ensure disposition information is submitted in accordance with subsection (g) of Code Section 35-3-36 when a final disposition decision is made by a solicitor-general;
   5. To attend before the appellate courts when any criminal case in which the solicitor-general represents the state is heard, to argue the same, and to perform any other duty therein which the interest of the state may require; and
   6. To perform such other duties as are or may be required by law or which necessarily appertain to their office.
2. The authority of the solicitors-general shall include but is not limited to the following:
   1. To review and, if necessary, investigate all criminal cases which may be prosecuted in state court;
   2. When authorized by law, to represent the interests of the state in all courts of inquiry within the county in any matter wherein misdemeanor offenses are heard;
   3. When authorized by the local governing authority, to be the prosecuting attorney of any municipal court, recorder’s court, or probate court;
   4. To prosecute civil actions to enforce any civil penalty set forth in Code Section 40-6-163 and when authorized by law to prosecute or defend any civil action in the state court in the prosecution or defense of which the state is interested, unless otherwise specially provided for;
   5. To reduce to judgment any fine, forfeiture, or restitution imposed by the state court as part of a sentence in a criminal case or forfeiture of a recognizance which is not paid in accordance with the order of the court. The solicitor-general may institute such civil or criminal action in the courts of this state or of the United States or any of the several states, to enforce said judgment against the property of the defendant;
   6. To prosecute on behalf of the state any criminal action which is removed from the state court to a United States district court pursuant to Chapter 89 of Title 28 of the United States Code. The expenses incurred by the solicitor-general as actual costs in the prosecution of any such case shall be paid by the county;
   7. To represent the state or any officer or agent of the county in a superior court in any habeas corpus action arising out of any criminal proceeding in the state court, except in those cases in which the commissioner of public safety is named as a party;
   8. At the request of any district attorney or solicitor-general, to prosecute or assist in the prosecution of any criminal or civil action and when acting in such capacity a solicitor-general shall have the same authority and power as the requesting prosecutor;
   9. To request and utilize the assistance of any solicitor-general, assistant solicitor-general, district attorney, assistant district attorney, or other attorney employed by an agency of this state or its political subdivisions or authorities in the prosecution of any criminal or civil action;
   10. To enter a nolle prosequi on any accusation, citation, or summons filed and pending or on any indictment pending in the state court as provided by law. No accusation, citation, or summons shall be considered filed unless such filing has been done with the consent, direction, or approval of the solicitor-general. Further, no notice of arraignment shall be given prior to such filing without the solicitor-general’s consent, direction, or approval. Prior to the filing of an accusation, citation, or summons, the solicitor-general shall have the same authority and discretion as district attorneys over criminal cases within their jurisdiction;
   11. To request the magistrate to schedule within a reasonable time a preliminary probable cause hearing in any pending misdemeanor case prior to the filing of an accusation and to represent the interests of the state at such hearing; and
   12. To exercise such authority as may be permitted by law or which necessarily appertains to their office.
3. The provisions of this Code section shall not be deemed to restrict, limit, or diminish any authority or power granted to a solicitor-general by local Act.

History. Code 1981, § 15-18-66 , enacted by Ga. L. 1996, p. 748, § 2; Ga. L. 2012, p. 53, § 2/SB 352; Ga. L. 2012, p. 775, § 15/HB 942; Ga. L. 2022, p. 121, § 9/SB 441.

The 2022 amendment, effective July 1, 2022, in subsection (a), added paragraph (a)(4) and redesignated former paragraphs (a)(4) and (a)(5) as present paragraphs (a)(5) and (a)(6), respectively.

Editor’s notes.

Ga. L. 2022, p. 121, § 1/SB 441, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “(a) The General Assembly finds that:

“(1) The state’s current system for sharing criminal case data is not adequate to provide to all appropriately interested parties, including, but not limited to, law enforcement agencies and officers, courts, crime victims and other impacted individuals, housing providers, and employers, complete criminal case data;

“(2) One recent report indicates there may be as many as 7 million criminal charges without a final disposition indicated, and, of those, as many as 5.4 million criminal charges have languished for years;

“(3) Georgia’s citizens and businesses are harmed by incomplete criminal case data. For example, in thousands of cases, as a result of incomplete criminal case data, citizens’ employability and housing opportunities have been negatively impacted; and

“(4) A more uniform, modern system and framework for handling criminal case data will support the state in meeting its obligations to victims to keep them informed as their perpetrators make their way through the criminal justice system.

“(b) It is the intent of the General Assembly that criminal case data be complete and accurately reported to the appropriate state data base and be accessible to state and local criminal justice agencies, employers, housing providers, victims, and all citizens.”

Ga. L. 2022, p. 121, § 2/SB 441, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “This Act shall be known and may be cited as the ‘Criminal Records Responsibility Act.’”

U.S. Code.

Chapter 89, Title 28 of the United States Code, referred to in this Code section, governs district courts and the removal of cases from state courts, and is codified at 28 U.S.C. § 1441 et seq.