(a) In petitions filed under this article challenging for the first time state court proceedings resulting in a death sentence, the provisions of this article shall apply except as specifically provided otherwise in this Code section.
§ 9-14-47.1.Petitions challenging for the first time state court proceedings resulting in a death sentence
Chapter 14. Habeas Corpus · Article 2. Procedure for Persons under Sentence of State Court of Record · Last amended 1996 · Last verified July 17, 2026
In one sentenceO.C.G.A. § 9-14-47.1 layers special procedures onto first-time habeas challenges to a death sentence — routing the case to a judge from outside the sentencing circuit, directing the Council of Superior Court Judges to set statewide scheduling rules for those cases, and barring a petitioner from using any of these accommodations to slow down a second or later challenge to the same death sentence.
Full Text of § 9-14-47.1
(b) Within ten days of the filing of a petition challenging for the first time state court proceedings resulting in a death sentence, the superior court clerk of the county where the petition is filed shall give written notice to The Council of Superior Court Judges of Georgia of the filing of the petition which shall serve as a request for judicial assistance under paragraph (3) of subsection (b) of Code Section 15-1-9.1. Within 30 days of receipt of such notice, the president of the council shall, under guidelines promulgated by the executive committee of the council, assign the case to a judge of a circuit other than the circuit in which the conviction and sentence were imposed.
(c) The Council of Superior Court Judges of Georgia shall establish, by uniform court rules, appropriate time periods and schedules applicable to petitions filed on or after January 1, 1996, challenging for the first time state court proceedings resulting in a sentence of death. Such rules shall be adopted by the Supreme Court of Georgia on or before December 31, 1995. Such new time periods and schedules shall include, but specifically not be limited to, the following:
(1) Respondent’s filing of an answer or motion to dismiss the petition;
(2) Petitioner’s filing of any amendments to the petition;
(3) Filing by either party of motions and responses to motions;
(4) Scheduling and conducting of evidentiary hearings; and
(5) Date of final order.
(d) In petitions filed under this article challenging for a second or subsequent time a state court proceeding resulting in a death sentence, the petitioner shall not be entitled to invoke any of the provisions set forth in this Code section to delay the proceedings. To the extent the court deems it necessary to have an evidentiary hearing on any such petition, the court shall expedite the proceedings and the time limits shall not exceed those set for initial petitions.
Plain-English Summary
A first-time challenge to a death sentence gets handled differently from an ordinary habeas case under this article, and this section builds that different track. Subsection (a) makes clear the rest of Article 2 still applies as a baseline — this section only modifies what it specifically addresses.
The first modification is who presides. Within ten days of the petition being filed, the superior court clerk has to notify the Council of Superior Court Judges of Georgia, and that notice doubles as a request for judicial assistance. Within 30 days of getting it, the council’s president has to assign the case to a judge from a circuit other than the one where the conviction and sentence were imposed — pulling the case away from the judges of the convicting circuit.
The second modification is scheduling. The council was directed to build, and the Georgia Supreme Court to adopt by the end of 1995, uniform time periods and schedules covering the respondent’s answer, the petitioner’s amendments, motions and responses, evidentiary hearings, and the entry of a final order — a more detailed calendar than the general 20-day-and-reasonable-time rule in Code Section 9-14-47.
None of these accommodations carry over to a second or later petition challenging the same death sentence. Subsection (d) blocks a petitioner from using them to slow down a successive petition, and requires the court to move at least as quickly as it would for an initial petition.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which cases trigger the special procedure in this section?
A petition filed under this article that challenges, for the first time, a state court proceeding that resulted in a death sentence.
Who ends up presiding over a first-time death sentence habeas case?
A judge from a circuit other than the one where the conviction and sentence were imposed, assigned by the president of the Council of Superior Court Judges of Georgia.
How quickly does that judicial assignment happen?
The clerk notifies the council within ten days of filing, and the council president assigns an out-of-circuit judge within 30 days of receiving that notice.
What kinds of deadlines does the Council of Superior Court Judges set under subsection (c)?
Time periods for the respondent’s answer or motion to dismiss, the petitioner’s amendments, motions and responses, evidentiary hearings, and the date of the final order.
Do these accommodations apply to a second habeas petition challenging the same death sentence?
No. Subsection (d) bars a petitioner from invoking them to delay a second or later petition and requires the court to expedite it within the same time limits set for initial petitions.
Amendment History
Code 1981, § 9-14-47.1, enacted by Ga. L. 1995, p. 381, § 5; Ga. L. 1996, p. 6, § 9.
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, published by the
Official Code of Georgia Annotated, Georgia Code Revision Commission / LexisNexis. Last verified July 17, 2026.
· Official source
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