2022 Georgia Code
Title 17 - Criminal Procedure
Chapter 7 - Pretrial Proceedings
Article 5 - Arraignment and Pleas Generally
§ 17-7-93. Reading of Indictment or Accusation; Answer of Accused to Charge; Recordation of “Guilty” Plea and Pronouncement of Judgment; Withdrawn Guilty Pleas; Pleas by Immigrants

1. Upon the arraignment of a person accused of committing a crime, the indictment or accusation shall be read to him and he shall be required to answer whether he is guilty or not guilty of the offense charged, which answer or plea shall be made orally by the accused person or his counsel.
2. If the person pleads “guilty,” the plea shall be immediately recorded on the minutes of the court by the clerk, together with the arraignment; and the court shall pronounce the judgment of the law upon the person in the same manner as if he or she had been convicted of the offense by the verdict of a jury. At any time before judgment is pronounced, the accused person may withdraw the plea of “guilty” and plead “not guilty.”
3. In addition to any other inquiry by the court prior to acceptance of a plea of guilty, the court shall determine whether the defendant is freely entering the plea with an understanding that if he or she is not a citizen of the United States, then the plea may have an impact on his or her immigration status. This subsection shall apply with respect to acceptance of any plea of guilty to any state offense in any court of this state or any political subdivision of this state.

History. Laws 1833, Cobb’s 1851 Digest, p. 834; Code 1863, § 4524; Code 1868, § 4543; Code 1873, § 4636; Code 1882, § 4636; Penal Code 1895, § 946; Penal Code 1910, § 971; Code 1933, § 27-1404; Ga. L. 2000, p. 808, § 1; Ga. L. 2011, p. 99, § 31/HB 24.

Editor’s notes.

Ga. L. 2011, p. 99, § 101/HB 24, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that this Act shall apply to any motion made or hearing or trial commenced on or after January 1, 2013.

U.S. Code.

For provisions of Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, Rules 10 and 11, arraignment and plea, and annotations pertaining thereto, see 18 U.S.C.

Law reviews.

For comment on Boyett v. State, 81 Ga. App. 49 , 57 S.E.2d 831 (1950), see 2 Mercer L. Rev. 433 (1951).

For article surveying the law in Georgia on admissions, see 8 Mercer L. Rev. 252 (1957).

For comment on Ware v. State, 128 Ga. App. 407 , 196 S.E.2d 896 (1973), discussing the right of an accused to retract guilty plea prior to judgment, see 10 Ga. St. B.J. 469 (1974).

For article on the effect of nolo contendere plea on conviction, see 13 Ga. L. Rev. 723 (1979).

For article surveying developments in Georgia criminal law from mid-1980 through mid-1981, see 33 Mercer L. Rev. 95 (1981).

For article, “No Second Chances: Immigration Consequences of Criminal Charges,” see 13 Ga. St. B.J. 26 (2007).

For survey article on criminal law, see 59 Mercer L. Rev. 89 (2007).

For survey article on death penalty law, see 59 Mercer L. Rev. 123 (2007).

For article, “Evidence,” see 27 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 1 (2011).

For article on the 2011 amendment of this Code section, see 28 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 1 (2011).

For note, “Padilla v. Kentucky: The Criminal Defense Attorney’s Obligation to Warn of Immigration Consequences of Criminal Conviction,” see 29 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 891 (2012).