Issuance of Bench Warrant; Execution; Receiving Bail, Fixing Bond, and Approving Sureties

  1. Law
  2. Georgia Code
  3. Criminal Procedure
  4. Pretrial Proceedings
  5. Arraignment and Pleas Generally
  6. Issuance of Bench Warrant; Execution; Receiving Bail, Fixing Bond, and Approving Sureties

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  1. A bench warrant may be issued by a judge for the arrest of a person:
    1. Accused of a crime by a grand jury;
    2. Except as otherwise provided in Code Section 17-6-11, charged with a crime who has failed to appear in court after:
      1. Actual notice of the time and place to appear to the person in open court;
      2. Notice of the time and place to appear to the person by mailing a notice to such person's last known address; or
      3. The person has otherwise been notified of the time and place to appear personally, in writing, by a court official or officer of the court;
    3. Charged with a crime upon the filing by the prosecutor of an accusation supported by affidavit; or
    4. Who failed to dispose of his or her charges or waive arraignment and plead not guilty after the expiration of the 30 day period set forth in subsection (b) of Code Section 17-6-11.
  2. Every officer is bound to execute a bench warrant within his or her jurisdiction, and every person so arrested shall be committed to jail until bail is tendered. Any judicial officer or the sheriff of the county where the charge was returned may receive the bail, fix the amount of the bond, and approve the sureties unless it is a case that is bailable only before some particular judicial officer.

(Orig. Code 1863, § 4608; Code 1868, § 4630; Code 1873, § 4727; Code 1882, § 4727; Penal Code 1895, § 932; Penal Code 1910, § 957; Code 1933, § 27-801; Ga. L. 1989, p. 623, § 2; Ga. L. 2004, p. 631, § 17; Ga. L. 2017, p. 608, § 2/SB 176.)

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Power of judge of probate court to issue arrest warrant.

- Judge of the probate court does not have authority to issue a bench warrant, but the judge does have authority to issue an arrest warrant for a person who does not appear to answer a traffic violation citation issued to the person, regardless of whether the person resides in the county. 1975 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U75-65.

Service of warrants which do not fit definition of "bench warrant."

- Any warrant issued by the court itself resulting from a case of criminal contempt or when a misdemeanor case is proceeding upon an accusation or to bring in a witness who has not obeyed a subpoena issued in a criminal case can properly be served by members of the Department of Public Safety, even though such a warrant would not be a bench warrant under the narrow definition given by this section. 1963-65 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 42.

Warrant for arrest of traffic law violator.

- Named probate court may issue a warrant ordering apprehension of an individual charged with violating traffic laws of this state who fails to appear in court on the date and at the time specified in the citation upon which he or she was arrested. 1980 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U80-58.

Professional bondsman may not make an arrest pursuant to a bench warrant. 1970 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U70-83.

Approval of sureties.

- Former Code 1933, §§ 27-801 and 27-902 (see O.C.G.A. §§ 17-7-90,17-6-1 and17-6-2) provided for the approval of sureties by sheriffs or judicial officers. Qualifications, such as solvency and reliability, may be inquired into before approval. 1970 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U70-83.

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d.

- 8A Am. Jur. 2d, Bail and Recognizance, §§ 1 et seq., 121 et seq.

C.J.S.

- 8 C.J.S., Bail; Release and Detention Pending Proceedings, § 70 et seq. 22 C.J.S., Criminal Procedure and Rights of the Accused, § 185 et seq.

ALR.

- Bail: imposition of life sentence as affecting capital character of offense, 3 A.L.R. 970.

Pretrial preventive detention by state court, 75 A.L.R.3d 956.


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