GA Bar State Law 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under O.C.G.A. § 16-5-1, Georgia's felony murder rule imposes murder liability when:
- The defendant premeditated the killing during a felony
- A death occurs during commission of a felony regardless of intent to kill (Correct answer)
- Only the person who directly causes death is liable
- The underlying felony must itself be a violent crime
Correct answer: A death occurs during commission of a felony regardless of intent to kill
Georgia's felony murder statute holds any felony participant liable for murder when a death results during the felony, without requiring intent to kill.
Question 2: Georgia's 'Stand Your Ground' law (O.C.G.A. § 16-3-23.1) permits a person to use defensive force:
- Only inside their own home or curtilage
- Only when retreat is physically impossible
- Without a duty to retreat when lawfully present at any location (Correct answer)
- Only in response to deadly force threats
Correct answer: Without a duty to retreat when lawfully present at any location
Georgia's Stand Your Ground law eliminates the duty to retreat when a person is lawfully present at any location and faces a qualifying threat.
Question 3: Under O.C.G.A. § 17-7-170, when a Georgia criminal defendant files a statutory demand for speedy trial, the state must try the case within:
- 30 days of the demand
- 60 days of the demand
- Two court terms after the term in which the demand is filed (Correct answer)
- 180 days from the date of arrest
Correct answer: Two court terms after the term in which the demand is filed
A § 17-7-170 demand requires trial in the term it is filed or the next succeeding term, or the defendant is entitled to discharge.
Question 4: Under the Georgia Constitution, which of the following crimes requires a grand jury indictment before prosecution can proceed?
- First-offense misdemeanor DUI
- Shoplifting merchandise valued under $500
- Murder (Correct answer)
- Simple battery
Correct answer: Murder
The Georgia Constitution requires all felony prosecutions to be initiated by grand jury indictment, and murder is a felony.
Question 5: Under O.C.G.A. § 40-6-391, Georgia's DUI per se law is violated when an adult driver's blood alcohol content equals or exceeds:
- 0.06%
- 0.08% (Correct answer)
- 0.10%
- 0.12%
Correct answer: 0.08%
Georgia's DUI per se threshold for drivers aged 21 and older is 0.08% BAC under O.C.G.A. § 40-6-391.
Question 6: Under Georgia's recidivist statute (O.C.G.A. § 17-10-7), a defendant convicted of a fourth felony must:
- Receive double the maximum sentence
- Serve the maximum sentence without possibility of parole (Correct answer)
- Receive an automatic life imprisonment sentence
- Serve a mandatory minimum of 15 years
Correct answer: Serve the maximum sentence without possibility of parole
O.C.G.A. § 17-10-7 requires that a fourth felony offender serve the maximum sentence with parole eligibility eliminated.
Question 7: Under Georgia criminal law, duress is available as an affirmative defense when:
- The defendant was unaware the conduct was illegal
- The defendant acted under a reasonable fear of imminent unlawful injury (Correct answer)
- The defendant committed the act outside Georgia's territory
- The victim consented to minor bodily contact
Correct answer: The defendant acted under a reasonable fear of imminent unlawful injury
Georgia recognizes duress as a defense when the defendant reasonably believed that acting was necessary to avoid imminent unlawful injury to themselves or another.
GA Bar State Law 3
Under O.C.G.A. § 16-5-1, Georgia's felony murder rule imposes murder liability when: