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Official Code of Georgia Annotated

Title 16. CRIMES AND OFFENSES · Chapter 3. DEFENSES TO CRIMINAL PROSECUTIONS · Article 2. JUSTIFICATION AND EXCUSE

16-3-20. Justification.

Active

Current through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

  1. The fact that a person’s conduct is justified is a defense to prosecution for any crime based on that conduct. The defense of justification can be claimed:

  2. (1)

    When the person’s conduct is justified under Code Section 16-3-21, 16-3-23, 16-3-24, 16-3-25, or 16-3-26;#

  3. (2)

    When the person’s conduct is in reasonable fulfillment of his duties as a government officer or employee;#

  4. (3)

    When the person’s conduct is the reasonable discipline of a minor by his parent or a person in loco parentis;#

  5. (4)

    When the person’s conduct is reasonable and is performed in the course of making a lawful arrest;#

  6. (5)

    When the person’s conduct is justified for any other reason under the laws of this state, including as provided in Code Section 51-1-29; or#

  7. (6)

    In all other instances which stand upon the same footing of reason and justice as those enumerated in this article.#

The notes below are printed with the section but are not enacted law (O.C.G.A. § 1-1-1(c)). They are shown apart from the text.

History

Code 1933, § 26-901, enacted by Ga. L. 1968, p. 1249, § 1; Ga. L. 1999, p. 81, § 16; Ga. L. 2015, p. 598, § 2-2/HB 72.

Law reviews

For survey article on criminal law, see 60 Mercer L. Rev. 85 (2008). For article on the 2015 amendment of this Code section, see 32 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 63 (2015).

Read the official page (the state's PDF, opened at the page this text was read from).

Current through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

Text read from t16-ch1-6-(v14)-2019-pdf.pdf, Volume V14, 2019 edition, pages 265 to 266; merge action: annotated; file SHA-256 7e331f0ca7d3.