Official Code of Georgia Annotated

Title 17. CRIMINAL PROCEDURE · Chapter 12. LEGAL DEFENSE FOR INDIGENTS · Article 2. PUBLIC DEFENDERS

17-12-25. Salary of public defender; private practice prohibited.

Active

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

(a)
Each circuit public defender shall receive an annual salary equal to the annual salary of a district attorney and shall receive any cost-of-living adjustments that may be given by the General Assembly in the General Appropriations Act for which district attorneys are eligible. Any increase granted pursuant to this subsection shall become effective at the same time that funds are made available for the increase for such employees. Each circuit public defender may also be entitled to an accountability court salary supplement as set forth in Code Section 17-12-25.1.#
(b)
The county or counties comprising the judicial circuit may supplement the salary of the circuit public defender in an amount as is or may be authorized by local Act or in an amount as may be determined by the governing authority of the county or counties, whichever is greater.#
(c)
No circuit public defender shall engage in the private practice of law for profit or serve concurrently in any judicial office.#

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 1981, § 17-12-25, enacted by Ga. L. 2003, p. 191, § 1; Ga. L. 2004, Ex. Sess., p. ES3, § 18/HB 1EX; Ga. L. 2008, p. 846, § 32/HB 1245; Ga. L. 2009, p. 745, § 1/SB 97; Ga. L. 2012, p. 446, § 2-18/HB 642; Ga. L. 2015, p. 919, § 1-7/HB 279; Ga. L. 2022, p. 349, § 1/HB 1391.

Amendments

The 2022 amendment, effective July 1, 2022, in subsection (a), rewrote the first sentence, which read: “Each circuit public defender shall receive an annual salary of $99,526.00, and cost-of-living adjustments may be given by the General Assembly in the General Appropriations Act by a percentage not to exceed the average percentage of the general increase in salary as may from time to time be granted to employees of the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of government; provided, however, that any increase for such circuit public defender shall not include within-grade step increases for which classified employees as defined by Code Section 45-20-2 are eligible.” and deleted the former third sentence, which read: “The Office of Planning and Budget shall calculate the average percentage increase.”

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

Text read from t17-(v15)-pdf.pdf, Volume V15, 2020 edition, 2025 supplement, pages 156 to 157; merge action: replaced; file SHA-256 9ed85bfde942.

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