Georgia Code
Article 2 - Commitment Hearings
§ 17-7-20. Persons Who May Hold Courts of Inquiry

Any judge of a superior or state court, judge of the probate court, magistrate, or officer of a municipality who has the criminal jurisdiction of a magistrate may hold a court of inquiry to examine an accusation against a person legally arrested and brought before him or her. The time and place of the inquiry shall be determined by such judicial officer. Such judge may order the court of inquiry to be conducted by audio-visual communication between the accused, the court, the attorneys, and the witnesses.
History. Orig. Code 1863, § 4611; Code 1868, § 4633; Code 1873, § 4730; Code 1882, § 4730; Penal Code 1895, § 906; Penal Code 1910, § 931; Code 1933, § 27-401; Ga. L. 1982, p. 493, §§ 1, 2; Ga. L. 1983, p. 884, § 3-19; Ga. L. 1996, p. 742, § 2; Ga. L. 2021, p. 423, § 1-8/HB 635.
The 2021 amendment, effective May 4, 2021, substituted the present provisions of this Code section for the former provisions, which read: “Any judge of a superior or state court, judge of the probate court, magistrate, or officer of a municipality who has the criminal jurisdiction of a magistrate may hold a court of inquiry to examine into an accusation against a person legally arrested and brought before him or her. The time and place of the inquiry shall be determined by such judicial officer. Should the county in which the offense is alleged to have been committed be a member of a regional jail authority created under Article 5 of Chapter 4 of Title 42, the ‘Regional Jail Authorities Act,’ the judge may order the court of inquiry to be conducted alternatively in the county in which the offense is alleged to have been committed or in facilities available at the regional jail or by audio-visual communication between the two locations and between the accused, the court, the attorneys, and the witnesses.”
Code Commission notes.
Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1996, “known as” was deleted following “Title 42,” in the last sentence.
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, “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).

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