Domestic Violence Charges in Georgia

Georgia charges violence against family members as higher-penalty versions of the regular offenses. The family/household group covers past or present spouses, parents of the same child, parents and children, stepparents and stepchildren, foster parents and foster children, and others (excluding siblings) living or formerly living in the same household. Simple assault and simple battery against them are misdemeanors of a high and aggravated nature. Family violence battery (§ 16-5-23.1(f)) is a misdemeanor on a first conviction but a felony punishable by 'not less than one nor more than five years' on a second or later conviction, or on a first conviction if the person has a prior forcible felony against a household member. Aggravated assault and aggravated battery against these family members carry 'not less than three nor more than 20 years.' Assault with an object likely to result in strangulation is aggravated assault.

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.