HB 582: Georgia Survivor Justice Act; enact

Georgia law previously let defendants in murder or manslaughter cases offer limited evidence that they were abused by the person they harmed. This bill widens that door significantly. Defendants charged with any violent crime under Title 16, Chapter 5 (such as assault or battery) can now present a broader range of evidence, including police reports, counseling records, protective orders, and expert testimony, to show they reasonably believed force was necessary. It also rewrites Georgia's coercion defense so it applies to nearly every crime except murder, and changes the legal standard from acting the 'only way' to prevent harm to acting in a way 'reasonably believed necessary,' including to protect a third person. The bill creates a new sentencing option (O.C.G.A. § 17-10-22) letting judges impose reduced minimum sentences, including for people already convicted, when abuse was a significant factor in the offense, and sets up a petition process for people sentenced before July 1, 2025 to ask for resentencing. It also creates a legal privilege protecting communications made during victim-offender dialogues and shields facilitators from civil liability except in cases of gross negligence or willful disregard for safety. Separately, the bill standardizes the oath Georgia peace officers must take starting July 1, 2025, and narrows the crime of violating an oath of office to only certain codified oaths tied to a felony or serious misdemeanor.

• Expands the self-defense evidentiary rule (O.C.G.A. § 16-3-21) beyond murder and manslaughter to any offense under Title 16, Chapter 5, allowing broader evidence of abuse by the alleged victim.
• Rewrites the coercion defense (O.C.G.A. § 16-3-26) to apply to almost all crimes except murder and lowers the standard to acting in a way reasonably believed necessary to prevent death or serious injury to oneself or a third person.
• Creates a new sentencing provision (O.C.G.A. § 17-10-22) allowing reduced minimum sentences for defendants shown to have been victims of family violence, dating violence, or child abuse connected to their offense.
• Establishes a petition and hearing process letting people already sentenced seek resentencing under the new abuse-based standard.
• Creates a new evidentiary privilege and civil immunity for facilitators of victim-centered practices and victim-offender dialogues (O.C.G.A. § 24-5-511).
• Standardizes the oath sworn by Georgia peace officers and sheriffs starting July 1, 2025, and narrows the crime of violating an oath of office to only codified oaths tied to a felony or high and aggravated misdemeanor.

Defendants and incarcerated people who experienced family violence, dating violence, or child abuse; prosecutors and judges handling these cases; survivors and offenders who take part in victim-offender dialogues and the facilitators who run them; and Georgia's peace officers and sheriffs, who would take a newly standardized oath and face a narrower misconduct charge.

People who harmed an abuser could have an easier path to raising a self-defense or coercion claim, and some already-incarcerated survivors could seek shorter sentences through a new court petition process. Communications in victim-offender dialogues would gain legal protection, and officers would face a more limited version of the oath-violation crime.

• Section 2 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 16-3-21(d) to let defendants in any Chapter 5 offense present evidence of family violence, dating violence, or child abuse by the alleged victim, including police reports, protective orders, and expert testimony.
• Section 3 revises the coercion defense (O.C.G.A. § 16-3-26) to cover all crimes except murder under O.C.G.A. § 16-5-1(a) and changes the standard to reasonable belief that the act was necessary to prevent imminent death or serious injury to oneself or a third person.
• Section 4 limits the crime of violating an oath of office (O.C.G.A. § 16-10-1) for peace officers to violations of their codified oaths, and only when predicated on a felony or high and aggravated misdemeanor.
• Sections 5 and 6 create a petition process and new sentencing statute (O.C.G.A. § 17-10-22) letting courts impose reduced minimum sentences, including 10 to 30 years instead of life or death, when abuse significantly contributed to the offense.
• Sections 7 and 8 create a new evidentiary privilege (O.C.G.A. § 24-5-511) for communications made during victim-centered practices and victim-offender dialogues, with exceptions for imminent violence threats or child abuse reports, and shield facilitators from civil liability absent gross negligence or willful disregard for safety.
• Section 9 sets a uniform oath text for peace officers and sheriffs taking office on or after July 1, 2025, and states that any additional agency language beyond the prescribed oath is aspirational only and has no legal effect in court.

1. 2025-07-01Effective Date
2. 2025-05-12Act 131
3. 2025-05-12House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2025-04-10House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2025-04-04House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (House)
6. 2025-04-02Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
7. 2025-04-02Senate Third Read (Senate)
8. 2025-03-28Senate Read Second Time (Senate)

• Stan Gunter (R, HD-8)Primary sponsor
• Matt Reeves (R, HD-99)
• Kimberly New (R, HD-40)
• Soo Hong (R, HD-103)
• Tyler Paul Smith (R, HD-18)
• James Burchett (R, HD-176)
• Bo Hatchett (R, SD-50)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 6, 2025

   166 yea, 2 nay (5 not voting, 7 excused)

   PASSAGE: House Vote #254

2. PassedSenate voteApril 2, 2025

   53 yea, 1 nay (1 not voting, 1 excused)

   PASSAGE BY SUBSTITUTE: Senate Vote #407

3. PassedHouse voteApril 4, 2025

   164 yea, 0 nay (5 not voting, 11 excused)

   Agree to Senate Substitute: House Vote #417

• domestic violence law
• self-defense laws
• criminal sentencing reform
• peace officer oath
• victim-offender dialogue