SB244: SB244 Criminal Proceedings; the award of reasonable attorney's fees and costs in a criminal case to the defendant upon such defendant making a successful motion to disqualify the prosecuting attorney for misconduct in connection with the case; provide

Georgia law currently has no set process for a defendant to recover legal costs if a prosecutor's misconduct leads to the case being thrown out, and no dedicated system for compensating people later proven innocent after being convicted and imprisoned. This bill addresses both gaps. Part I adds a new Code section (O.C.G.A. § 17-11-6) letting a defendant get all reasonable attorney's fees and costs, paid by the local prosecutor's office budget, if the prosecuting attorney is disqualified for improper conduct and the case is then dismissed. The defendant must file within 45 days of the case ending, and the judge decides the amount without a jury. Part II creates the 'Wrongful Conviction and Incarceration Compensation Act,' a new chapter letting people whose felony convictions were overturned, who did not commit the crime, file compensation claims with the Office of State Administrative Hearings. It sets payment amounts, filing deadlines, and a new state trust fund to pay awards, and takes effect July 1, 2025, while Part I takes effect on the Governor's signature and applies to pending cases.

• Creates a right for defendants to recover reasonable attorney's fees and costs when a prosecutor is disqualified for misconduct and the case is later dismissed (O.C.G.A. § 17-11-6).
• Requires those fees to be paid from the budget of the local prosecuting attorney's office rather than the state, and requires the motion to be filed within 45 days.
• Establishes the Wrongful Conviction and Incarceration Compensation Act, letting exonerated people file compensation claims with administrative law judges at the Office of State Administrative Hearings.
• Sets compensation at $75,000 per year of incarceration (plus $25,000 per year on death row), plus legal costs and reimbursement of fines or restitution paid.
• Creates the Wrongful Conviction and Incarceration Compensation Trust Fund in the state treasury to pay these awards, funded only when the legislature appropriates money to it.
• Bars the existing Claims Advisory Board from hearing wrongful conviction claims, since they now go through this new process instead.

Criminal defendants and their defense attorneys, county-funded district attorney and solicitor-general offices, people exonerated after a wrongful felony conviction, administrative law judges at the Office of State Administrative Hearings, the Attorney General's office, the Supreme Court of Georgia, and the State Board of Pardons and Paroles.

Defendants harmed by prosecutorial misconduct could recover legal costs directly from the local prosecutor's budget rather than absorbing them. People later proven innocent after prison time would gain a defined, faster path to compensation, with set dollar amounts, instead of relying on case-by-case legislative claims.

• Section 1-1 adds O.C.G.A. § 17-11-6, awarding attorney's fees and costs to a defendant when a disqualified prosecutor's misconduct leads to dismissal, paid from the local prosecutor's office budget.
• Section 2-1 creates new Chapter 22 of Title 17, the Wrongful Conviction and Incarceration Compensation Act, defining eligibility, deadlines, and evidence standards for claims (O.C.G.A. §§ 17-22-1 through 17-22-12).
• O.C.G.A. § 17-22-5 requires claimants to prove by a preponderance of evidence that they were convicted, served time, and did not commit the crime, and bars compensation for accomplices or those who caused their own conviction.
• O.C.G.A. § 17-22-7 sets compensation at $75,000 per year incarcerated ($100,000 if awaiting execution), plus legal costs and reimbursement of fines, fees, or restitution, adjusted yearly for inflation starting in 2026.
• O.C.G.A. § 17-22-9 creates the Wrongful Conviction and Incarceration Compensation Trust Fund, paid only from legislative appropriations, with an initial payment of $6,000 to $18,000 and the balance paid over time, capped at three years for awards over $1.5 million.
• O.C.G.A. § 17-22-10 waives the state's sovereign immunity specifically for these compensation claims and their payment from the trust fund.
• Section 2-2 bars the existing Claims Advisory Board from considering wrongful conviction claims under Title 28.
• Section 3-1 makes Part I effective upon the Governor's signature and applicable to pending criminal cases, while the rest of the Act takes effect July 1, 2025.

1. 2025-05-14Effective Date 2025-07-01
2. 2025-05-14Act 361
3. 2025-05-14Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate)
4. 2025-04-10Senate Sent to Governor (Senate)
5. 2025-04-04Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub (Senate)
6. 2025-04-02House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
7. 2025-04-02House Third Readers (House)
8. 2025-03-28House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)

• Brandon Beach (R, SD-021)Primary sponsor
• John Albers (R, SD-056)
• Carden Summers (R, SD-013)
• Randy Robertson (R, SD-029)
• Blake Tillery (R, SD-019)
• Ed Setzler (R, SD-037)
• Lee Anderson (R, SD-024)
• Mike Hodges (R, SD-003)
• Greg Dolezal (R, SD-027)
• Chuck Payne (R, SD-054)
• Drew Echols (R, SD-049)
• Marty Harbin (R, SD-016)
• Brian Strickland (R, SD-042)
• Russ Goodman (R, SD-008)
• Bo Hatchett (R, SD-050)
• Charles Martin (R, HD-049)

1. PassedSenate voteMarch 6, 2025

   55 yea, 0 nay (0 not voting, 1 absent)

   Passage As Amended: Senate Vote #214

2. PassedHouse voteApril 2, 2025

   103 yea, 61 nay (2 not voting, 14 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #392

3. PassedSenate voteApril 4, 2025

   35 yea, 18 nay (0 not voting, 3 absent)

   Agree To House Substitute: Senate Vote #471

• wrongful conviction compensation
• prosecutorial misconduct
• attorney's fees
• criminal justice reform
• state trust funds