HB 1255: Criminal procedure; motions and discovery; modify provisions

Georgia's discovery law (O.C.G.A. Chapter 16 of Title 17) currently requires prosecutors to turn over most evidence no later than ten days before trial. This bill would replace that fixed deadline in many places with a window tied to arraignment: disclosures generally must happen within 30 days of arraignment but no later than 30 days before trial. It also requires the state to mail or email a copy of an indictment or accusation to the defendant within five days of filing, and it changes when pretrial motions must be filed when a defendant has opted into discovery. The bill adds new definitions, including for written scientific reports and statements of a witness, expanding the latter to include body-worn or in-vehicle camera recordings and forensic interviews. It creates detailed new disclosure duties for both sides regarding expert witnesses, covering their opinions, technical notes, qualifications, and past testimony, with exclusion of undisclosed expert evidence as a possible penalty. It also updates subpoena service rules for law enforcement and child advocacy center staff and fixes a cross-reference for the Division of Forensic Sciences. The changes take effect July 1, 2026, and apply to motions, hearings, or trials starting on or after that date.

• Requires the state to mail or email a copy of a filed indictment or accusation to the defendant within five days, unless arraignment happens first.
• Changes the deadline for filing pretrial motions to 30 days after the state finishes its discovery obligations, when a defendant has opted into discovery.
• Replaces the old '10 days before trial' discovery deadline with a new window: within 30 days of arraignment but no later than 30 days before trial, for evidence, statements, and criminal history records.
• Creates new, detailed disclosure requirements for expert witnesses on both sides, including their opinions, technical notes, peer review materials, qualifications, and prior testimony history.
• Makes failure to disclose an expert's written report or opinion summary result in exclusion of that report and related testimony, unless the court allows an alternative remedy.
• Expands the definition of a witness statement to include body-worn or in-vehicle camera recordings and forensic interviews, and updates subpoena service procedures for law enforcement and child advocacy centers.

Criminal defendants and their attorneys, prosecutors and district attorneys' offices, law enforcement agencies including the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's Division of Forensic Sciences, expert witnesses such as forensic analysts and medical examiners, child advocacy centers, and courts handling felony and certain misdemeanor cases in Georgia.

The new timelines would shift when evidence, expert reports, and witness lists must change hands, potentially giving defendants more advance notice of the case against them while requiring prosecutors and defense attorneys to meet earlier deadlines tied to arraignment rather than trial dates, affecting how criminal cases are prepared statewide.

• Section 1 requires the state to mail or email an indictment to the defendant within five days of filing, unless arraignment is imminent.
• Section 3 revises the pretrial motion deadline (O.C.G.A. § 17-7-110) to run from the state's discovery compliance date when a defendant has opted into discovery, rather than a flat ten days after arraignment.
• Section 4 rewrites Article 1 of Chapter 16 (O.C.G.A. §§ 17-16-1 through 17-16-10), changing most discovery deadlines from ten days before trial to within 30 days of arraignment but no later than 30 days before trial.
• Section 4 adds new expert witness disclosure rules requiring opinions, technical notes, qualifications, and a four-year history of prior expert testimony, with exemptions for Division of Forensic Sciences witnesses on the publication and testimony-history requirements.
• Section 4 provides that failing to disclose an expert report or opinion summary results in exclusion of that evidence unless the court finds an alternative remedy appropriate.
• Section 4 extends reciprocal discovery rules in Article 2 to misdemeanor cases in city, municipal, recorder's, probate, and similar courts unless both sides agree to use Article 1 instead.
• Section 6 rewrites subpoena service rules (O.C.G.A. § 24-13-24) to require law enforcement units and child advocacy centers to designate specific individuals for receiving subpoenas.
• Section 8 sets the effective date as July 1, 2026, applying to motions, hearings, or trials commenced on or after that date.

1. 2026-03-06House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
2. 2026-02-11House Second Readers (House)
3. 2026-02-10House First Readers (House)
4. 2026-02-09House Hopper (House)

• Tyler Paul Smith (R, HD-18)Primary sponsor
• Soo Hong (R, HD-103)
• Rob Leverett (R, HD-123)
• Esther Panitch (D, HD-51)

• criminal discovery
• expert witnesses
• criminal procedure reform
• subpoenas
• forensic evidence