---
title: O.C.G.A. § 17-9-2. Jury to judge law and facts and give general verdict; imposition of sentence; form and construction of verdicts.
collection: code
id: 17-9-2
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 17-9-2 (2025)
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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=970
date: 2025
status: active
corpus_version: 2025-supplement-89aa39ab3c68
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publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly
heading_path: CRIMINAL PROCEDURE / VERDICT AND JUDGMENT GENERALLY / GENERAL PROVISIONS
---

# O.C.G.A. § 17-9-2. Jury to judge law and facts and give general verdict; imposition of sentence; form and construction of verdicts.

The jury shall be the judges of the law and the facts in the trial of all criminal cases and shall give a general verdict of ‘‘guilty’’ or ‘‘not guilty.’’ Upon a verdict of ‘‘guilty,’’ the sentence shall be imposed by the judge, unless otherwise provided by law. Verdicts are to have a reasonable intendment, are to receive a reasonable construction, and are not to be avoided unless from necessity.

## History

Laws 1833, Cobb’s 1851 Digest, p. 835; Code 1863, §§ 3481, 4532; Code 1868, §§ 3503, 4552; Code 1873, §§ 3561, 4646; Code 1882, §§ 3561, 4646; Penal Code 1895, § 1033; Penal Code 1910, § 1059; Code 1933, § 27-2301; Ga. L. 1974, p. 352, § 1.

## Cross References

Ga. Const. 1983, Art. I, Sec. I, Para. XI. Trial juries, § 15-12-120 et seq.

## Law Reviews

For comment on Finch v. State, 87 Ga. App. 426, 74 S.E.2d 121 (1953), granting defendant a new trial where the jury returned inconsistent verdicts, see 17 Ga. B.J. 381 (1955).

## U.s. Code.

Verdicts, Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, Rule 31.