Assault Laws in Georgia

Simple assault is attempting 'to commit a violent injury to the person of another' or doing an act that 'places another in reasonable apprehension of immediately receiving a violent injury'; it is a misdemeanor, raised to a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature when committed on public transit, against a household member, a public school employee on duty, or a pregnant woman. A misdemeanor carries up to $1,000.00 and up to 12 months in jail (§ 17-10-3); a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature carries up to $5,000.00 and up to 12 months (§ 17-10-4). Aggravated assault is an assault with intent to murder, rape or rob; with a deadly weapon or an object likely to cause serious bodily injury; with an object likely to result in strangulation; or by firing a gun from a vehicle toward people. It is a felony punished 'by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than 20 years,' with higher minimums for certain victims.

Georgia's rule on court-appointed lawyers: Applicants must complete and sign an application and verification and are interviewed at the detention center or the public defender's office. Income standards under O.C.G.A. § 17-12-2, as stated by the public defender office: for misdemeanors, probation violations and county or municipal offenses, a person who 'earns less than 100 percent of the federal poverty guidelines'; for juveniles, those 'whose parents earn less than 125 percent of the federal poverty guidelines'; for felonies, 'less than 150 percent of the federal poverty guidelines' — each with an exception for people with other resources that could reasonably pay for a lawyer, and no one with income above 150 percent of the federal poverty level is considered indigent. Application fee: Georgia law requires every person who applies for public defense services 'to pay the Public Defender Office a single fee of $50'; 'The court shall waive this fee if it finds that you are unable to pay the fee or that hardship will result if the fee is charged.' Attorney fees for court-appointed representation may also be imposed by the court at sentencing. O.C.G.A. §§ 15-21A-6(b), 17-12-2 (as quoted by the Chatham County Public Defender Office, Eastern Judicial Circuit)

Lawyers set their own fees, and Georgia has rules on how they may charge. See hiring a criminal defense lawyer in Georgia for fee rules, how to check a lawyer's license and free help.

Each state sets its own rules for sealing or expunging records. See Georgia expungement and record sealing rules.