---
title: O.C.G.A. § 17-10-37. Appointment of assistant to Supreme Court to review death sentences; employment of staff to compile data.
collection: code
id: 17-10-37
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 17-10-37 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/17-10-37
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/17-10-37.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/17-10-37/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t17-(v15)-2020-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=8c04ccfe_0#page=1261
date: 2025
status: active
corpus_version: 2025-supplement-89aa39ab3c68
license: CC0-1.0
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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version: the only printed version
in_force: true
current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly
heading_path: CRIMINAL PROCEDURE / SENTENCE AND PUNISHMENT / DEATH PENALTY GENERALLY
---

# O.C.G.A. § 17-10-37. Appointment of assistant to Supreme Court to review death sentences; employment of staff to compile data.

(a) There shall be an assistant to the Supreme Court who shall be an attorney appointed by the Chief Justice and who shall serve at the pleasure of the court. The assistant shall assist the Supreme Court in the review of all death sentences.

(b) The court shall be authorized to employ an appropriate staff and such methods to compile such data as are deemed by the Chief Justice to be appropriate and relevant to the statutory questions concerning the validity of the sentence reviewed in accordance with Code Section 17-10-35.

## History

Code 1933, § 27-2537, enacted by Ga. L. 1973, p. 159, § 4; Ga. L. 2010, p. 420, § 2/HB 323.

## Editor's Notes

Ga. L. 2010, p. 420, § 3/HB 323, not codified by the General Assembly, provides, in part, that the amendment of this Code section shall apply to any case docketed on or after July 1, 2010.

## Law Reviews

For article, ‘‘Toward a Perspective on the Death Penalty Cases,’’ see 27 Emory L.J. 469 (1978). For article surveying judicial developments in Georgia Criminal Law, see 31 Mercer L. Rev. 59 (1979).

For note, ‘‘Reviewing the Georgia Supreme Court’s Efforts at Proportionality Review,’’ see 39 Ga. L. Rev. 631 (2005).

For comment analyzing and criticizing the 1973 capital punishment statute in light of Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238, 92 S. Ct. 2726, 33 L. Ed. 2d 346 (1972), see 24 Mercer L. Rev. 891 (1973). For comment criticizing inadequate standards and nebulous measurements for review under Georgia death penalty statute, in light of Coley v. State, 231 Ga. 829, 204 S.E.2d 612 (1974), see 26 Mercer L. Rev. 331 (1974).