Georgia Code
Article 1 - Procedure for Sentencing and Imposition of Punishment
§ 17-10-3. Punishment for Misdemeanors Generally

History. Orig. Code 1863, § 4209; Ga. L. 1865-66, p. 233, § 2; Code 1868, §§ 4245, 4608; Code 1873, §§ 4310, 4705; Ga. L. 1878-79, p. 54, § 1; Code 1882, §§ 4310, 4705; Ga. L. 1895, p. 63, § 2; Penal Code 1895, § 1039; Ga. L. 1908, p. 1119, § 1; Penal Code 1910, § 1065; Code 1933, § 27-2506; Ga. L. 1956, p. 161, § 4; Ga. L. 1957, p. 477, § 5; Ga. L. 1964, p. 485, § 1; Ga. L. 1970, p. 236, § 10; Ga. L. 1972, p. 600, § 1; Ga. L. 1974, p. 361, § 1; Ga. L. 1974, p. 631, § 1; Ga. L. 1976, p. 210, § 1; Ga. L. 1985, p. 283, § 1; Ga. L. 1992, p. 3221, § 2; Ga. L. 1997, p. 1526, § 1; Ga. L. 2000, p. 1643, § 1; Ga. L. 2001, p. 1030, § 2; Ga. L. 2002, p. 415, § 17; Ga. L. 2005, p. 334, § 7-4/HB 501; Ga. L. 2014, p. 710, § 1-3/SB 298; Ga. L. 2015, p. 422, § 5-32/HB 310; Ga. L. 2016, p. 443, § 13-5/SB 367.
Cross references.
Time limitation on prosecutions for misdemeanors, § 17-3-1 .
Additional penalties for violations of municipal ordinances, § 36-30-8 .
Sentences for misdemeanor traffic offenses, § 40-13-26 .
Jurisdiction of Department of Offender Rehabilitation over misdemeanor offenders generally, § 42-5-51 .
Alternative provisions for sentencing of offenders between ages 17 and 25, § 42-7-3 et seq.
Probation of first offenders, § 42-8-60 et seq.
Code Commission notes.
Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2013, “or when the sentence is accepted pursuant to Code Section 42-9-71” was deleted following “felony sentence” at the end of the first sentence of subsection (f).
Editor’s notes.
Ga. L. 2015, p. 422, § 6-1/HB 310, not codified by the General Assembly, provides, in part, that this Act shall apply to sentences entered on or after July 1, 2015.
Administrative rules and regulations.
Offender administration, Official Compilation of the Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia, Board of Corrections, Departmental Operations, Chapter 125-2-4.
Law reviews.
For article discussing the constitutionality of imposing harsher sentences upon defendants found guilty in new trial after appeal, see 6 Ga. St. B.J. 183 (1969).
For article surveying judicial developments in Georgia Criminal Law, see 31 Mercer L. Rev. 59 (1979).
For annual survey of criminal law, see 38 Mercer L. Rev. 129 (1986).
For article, “Misdemeanor Sentencing in Georgia,” see 7 Ga. St. B.J. 8 (2001).
For article on the 2015 amendment of this Code section, see 32 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 231 (2015).
For article on the 2016 amendment of this Code section, see 33 Georgia St. U. L. Rev. 139 (2016).
For note, “Safe Haven No Longer: The Role of Georgia Courts and Private Probation Companies in Sustaining a De Facto Debtors’ Prison System,” see 48 Ga. L. Rev. 227 (2013).