---
title: O.C.G.A. § 24-6-653. Procedure for interrogation and taking of statements from hearing impaired persons arrested for violation of criminal laws.
collection: code
id: 24-6-653
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 24-6-653 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/24-6-653
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/24-6-653.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/24-6-653/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t24-ch1-7-(v20)-2023-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=27d520aa_0#page=670
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: EVIDENCE / WITNESSES / USE OF SIGN LANGUAGE AND INTERMEDIARY INTERPRETER IN ADMINISTRATIVE AND JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS
---

# O.C.G.A. § 24-6-653. Procedure for interrogation and taking of statements from hearing impaired persons arrested for violation of criminal laws.

(a) An arresting law enforcement agency shall provide a qualified interpreter to any hearing impaired person whenever a hearing impaired person is arrested for allegedly violating any criminal law or ordinance of this state or any political subdivision thereof.

(b)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, no interrogation, warning, informing of rights, taking of statements, or other investigatory procedures shall be undertaken upon a hearing impaired person unless a qualified interpreter has been provided or the law enforcement agency has taken such other steps as may be reasonable to accommodate such person’s disability. No answer, statement, admission, or other evidence acquired through the interrogation of a hearing impaired person shall be admissible in any criminal or quasi-criminal proceedings unless such was knowingly and voluntarily given. No hearing impaired person who has been taken into custody and who is otherwise eligible for release shall be detained because of the unavailability of a qualified interpreter.

(2) If a qualified interpreter is not available, an arresting officer may interrogate or take a statement from such person, provided that if the hearing impaired person cannot hear spoken words with a hearing aid or other sound amplification device, such interrogation and answers thereto shall be in writing and shall be preserved and turned over to the court in the event such person is tried for the alleged offense.

## History

Code 1981, § 24-6-653, enacted by Ga. L. 2011, p. 99, § 2/HB 24.

## Law Reviews

For casenote, “Rodriguez v. State: Addressing Georgia’s Implied Consent Requirements for Non-English-Speaking Drivers,” see 54 Mercer L. Rev. 1253 (2003).