---
title: O.C.G.A. § 17-4-26. Duty to bring persons arrested before judicial officer within 72 hours; notice to accused of time and place of commitment hearing; effect of failure to notify.
collection: code
id: 17-4-26
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 17-4-26 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/17-4-26
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/17-4-26.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/17-4-26/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=135
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.
up: https://georgiacommons.org/code/17-4.md
previous: https://georgiacommons.org/code/17-4-25.1.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/code/17-4-27.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/code/index.md
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 / ARREST OF PERSONS / ARREST BY LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS GENERALLY
---

# O.C.G.A. § 17-4-26. Duty to bring persons arrested before judicial officer within 72 hours; notice to accused of time and place of commitment hearing; effect of failure to notify.

Every law enforcement officer arresting under a warrant shall exercise reasonable diligence in bringing the person arrested before the judicial officer authorized to examine, commit, or receive bail and in any event to present the person arrested before a committing judicial officer within 72 hours after arrest. The accused shall be notified as to when and where the commitment hearing is to be held. An arrested person who is not notified before the hearing of the time and place of the commitment hearing shall be released.

## History

Orig. Code 1863, § 4606; Code 1868, § 4629; Code 1873, § 4726; Code 1882, § 4726; Penal Code 1895, § 899; Penal Code 1910, § 920; Code 1933, § 27-210; Ga. L. 1956, p. 796, § 1; Ga. L. 1995, p. 932, § 1.

## Cross References

Delivery of mentally ill persons, alcoholics, and others to emergency receiving facilities upon apprehension by peace officer, §§ 37-3-41, 37-3-42, 37-7-41, 37-7-42. Bail in magistrate court felony cases, Uniform Rules for the Magistrate Courts, Rule 23.2. Initial appearance hearing in magistrate court, Uniform Rules for the Magistrate Courts, Rule 13.

## Law Reviews

For article discussing preliminary hearings in felony cases as necessary to satisfy due process requirements, see 12 Ga. St. B.J. 207 (1976).

For note, ‘‘Bail in Georgia: Elimination of ‘Double Bonding’ — A Partially Solved Problem,’’ see 8 Ga. St. B.J. 220 (1971). For note, ‘‘A ‘Critical’ Question of State Law: Georgia’s Ambiguous Treatment of Initial Appearance Hearings and the Implications of Bail Reform,’’ see 54 Ga. L. Rev. 363 (2019).