---
title: SB 174. Conduct of Proceedings in Criminal Trials; legislative intent; provide
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sb174
cite_as: SB 174, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb174
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb174.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb174/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70342
date: 2025-02-18
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 95
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb174.md?full=1
bill_number: SB 174
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-02-13
last_action: Senate Read and Referred
sponsors:
  - Josh McLaurin
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB174/2025
upstream_id: 1970375
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - criminal trials
  - court procedure
  - appeals
  - legal objections
  - criminal justice reform
---

# SB 174. Conduct of Proceedings in Criminal Trials; legislative intent; provide

## Text

Senate Bill 174
By: Senator McLaurin of the 14th
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 3 of Chapter 8 of Title 17 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to conduct of proceedings in criminal trials, so as to provide for legislative intent;
to provide that exceptions to rulings or orders of the court are not necessary; to provide for
the preservation of errors; to provide that errors not affecting substantial rights shall be
disregarded; to provide that errors affecting substantial rights may be reviewed without the
necessity of a preserving objection; to provide for related matters; to provide an effective
date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
It is the intent of the General Assembly in enacting this Act to adopt Rules 51 and 52 of the
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, as interpreted by the Supreme Court of the United
States and the United States circuit courts of appeals as of the effective date of this Act to the
extent that such interpretation is consistent with the Constitution of Georgia. Where conflicts
are found to exist among the decisions of the various circuit courts of appeals interpreting
Rules 51 and 52 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, the General Assembly
considered the decisions of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
SECTION 2.
Article 3 of Chapter 8 of Title 17 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
conduct of proceedings in criminal trials, is amended by adding new Code sections to read
as follows:
<ins>"17-8-59.
(a) Exceptions to rulings or orders of the court are unnecessary.
(b) A party may preserve a claim of error by informing the court, when the court ruling or
order is made or sought, of the action the party wishes the court to take, or the party's
objection to the court's action and the grounds for that objection. If a party does not have
an opportunity to object to a ruling or order, the absence of an objection shall not later
prejudice that party. A ruling or order that admits or excludes evidence shall be governed
by Code Section 24-1-103.
17-8-60.
(a) Any error, defect, irregularity, or variance that does not affect substantial rights shall
be disregarded.
(b) A plain error that affects substantial rights may be considered even though it was not
brought to the court's attention."
</ins> SECTION 3.
This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law
without such approval.
SECTION 4.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

## Summaries written by Georgia Commons

The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.

A Georgia Senate bill would change how errors are preserved for appeal in criminal trials, ending the requirement that lawyers formally 'except' to a judge's ruling and adopting a federal-style plain-error review standard.

### Plain-language summary

Currently, Georgia's criminal trial procedure law (O.C.G.A. Title 17, Chapter 8) does not spell out modern rules for how lawyers must object to a judge's rulings in order to raise the issue later on appeal. This bill adds two new Code sections modeled on Rules 51 and 52 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, as those rules have been interpreted by federal courts, especially the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Georgia.
The bill says formal 'exceptions' to a judge's rulings are no longer necessary. Instead, a lawyer preserves an issue by telling the court what action they want or why they object, and failing to get a chance to object will not later hurt that party's case. Errors that do not affect a defendant's or the state's substantial rights must be ignored, but a serious error affecting substantial rights (plain error) can still be reviewed on appeal even if no one objected at the time. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it.

### What it does

- Adds new Code Section 17-8-59 stating that formal exceptions to a judge's rulings or orders are no longer required in Georgia criminal trials.
- Establishes that a party preserves a legal issue for appeal by telling the court what action it wants or the grounds for its objection when the ruling is made.
- Protects a party from being penalized later if it never had a chance to object to a court ruling or order in the moment.
- Adds new Code Section 17-8-60 requiring courts to disregard errors that do not affect a party's substantial legal rights.
- Allows appellate courts to review a serious ('plain') error affecting substantial rights even if no objection was made at trial.
- States the General Assembly's intent to follow the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and 11th Circuit Court of Appeals interpretations when applying these new sections.

### Who it affects

Criminal defendants, prosecutors, defense attorneys, trial judges, and appellate courts in Georgia, since the bill changes how legal objections must be made and preserved during criminal trials and how errors are reviewed on appeal.

### Why it matters

Trial lawyers would no longer need to use formal 'exceptions' to preserve objections, and serious errors that harm a party's rights could still be reviewed on appeal even without a timely objection, potentially changing which cases succeed on appeal in Georgia's criminal courts.

### Key provisions

- Section 1 states the General Assembly's intent to adopt Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure 51 and 52 as interpreted by federal courts, especially the 11th Circuit, consistent with the Georgia Constitution.
- Section 2 adds new Code Section 17-8-59, eliminating the need for formal exceptions and describing how a party preserves an objection for appeal.
- Section 2 also adds new Code Section 17-8-60, directing courts to disregard non-substantial errors and allowing review of plain errors affecting substantial rights.
- Section 3 sets the effective date as the date the Governor signs the bill or it becomes law without a signature.
- Section 4 repeals any existing laws that conflict with the new provisions.

## Status

- Status: Introduced (2025-02-13)
- Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2025-02-18)
- Sponsors: Josh McLaurin
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70342

> The history, votes, and amendments (95 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb174.md?full=1