HB1255: HB1255 Criminal procedure; motions and discovery; modify provisions

Georgia law currently requires the state to turn over evidence to a defendant no later than ten days before trial once the defendant has opted into the discovery process. This bill rewrites that timeline and much of the surrounding process. Instead of a flat ten-day-before-trial deadline, prosecutors would generally have to disclose evidence, witness statements, criminal histories, and scientific reports within 30 days of the defendant's arraignment, and no later than 30 days before trial. Defendants would face similar but shorter follow-on deadlines once the state complies. The bill also adds new detailed disclosure requirements for expert witnesses, including their opinions, technical notes, qualifications, and past testimony, with exceptions for witnesses from the state crime lab (the Division of Forensic Sciences). It requires courts to mail or email defendants a copy of an indictment or accusation within five days of filing, changes when pretrial motions must be filed, and updates rules for serving subpoenas, including new procedures for law enforcement agencies and child advocacy centers. The changes would 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 and their attorney within five days of filing, unless arraignment happens first.
• Changes the deadline for filing pretrial motions from ten days after arraignment to within 30 days of the state's completion of discovery, and no later than 30 days before trial, for defendants who opted into discovery.
• Replaces the old 'ten days before trial' discovery deadline with a new standard requiring prosecutors to disclose evidence, witness statements, and scientific reports within 30 days of arraignment but no later than 30 days before trial.
• Adds detailed new requirements for disclosing expert witnesses' opinions, technical notes, qualifications, and prior testimony history, with an exemption for state crime lab witnesses on some items.
• Revises how subpoenas can be served on peace officers, law enforcement support staff, and child advocacy center staff, requiring agencies to designate specific people to accept service.
• Corrects a cross-reference in the law describing the Division of Forensic Sciences' duty to facilitate independent testing of evidence.

Criminal defendants and their defense attorneys, prosecutors and district attorneys' offices, judges handling pretrial motions, expert witnesses (including crime lab analysts), law enforcement agencies and their officers and support staff, and child advocacy centers involved in forensic interviews.

The new deadlines would change how quickly prosecutors and defendants must exchange evidence, witness lists, and expert information before trial, which could affect how much time attorneys have to prepare and how courts schedule pretrial motions. The expert witness rules would give both sides more detailed advance notice of what expert testimony will say at trial.

• Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 17-7-54 to require mailing or emailing a copy of a filed indictment to the defendant within five days.
• Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 17-7-70.1 to require the same five-day mailing rule for accusations.
• Section 3 amends O.C.G.A. § 17-7-110 to tie the pretrial motion deadline to the state's discovery compliance rather than a fixed ten days after arraignment.
• Section 4 substantially rewrites Chapter 16 of Title 17 (O.C.G.A. §§ 17-16-1 through 17-16-23), changing discovery deadlines for both the state and defense to a 30-day-after-arraignment, 30-day-before-trial framework and adding new expert witness disclosure rules covering opinions, technical notes, and qualifications.
• Section 4 also revises the definition of 'statement of a witness' to include forensic interviews and body-worn or in-vehicle camera recordings.
• Sections 5 and 6 amend O.C.G.A. §§ 24-13-23 and 24-13-24 to revise subpoena service rules, including new definitions for law enforcement units and child advocacy centers and required designated recipients for service.
• Section 7 corrects a cross-reference in O.C.G.A. § 35-3-151 concerning the Division of Forensic Sciences' duty to facilitate independent testing.
• 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 Smith (R, HD-018)Primary sponsor
• Soo Hong (R, HD-103)
• Rob Leverett (R, HD-123)
• Esther Panitch (D, HD-051)

• criminal procedure
• discovery rules
• expert witnesses
• subpoenas
• indictments