All official duties should be faithfully performed, and whenever, from any cause, a defect of legal justice would ensue from a failure to perform or from improper performance, the writ of mandamus may issue to compel a due performance if there is no other specific legal remedy for the legal rights; provided, however, that no writ of mandamus to compel the removal of a judge shall issue where no motion to recuse has been filed, if such motion is available, or where a motion to recuse has been denied after assignment to a separate judge for hearing.
§ 9-6-20.When mandamus may issue; exceptions
Chapter 6. Extraordinary Writs · Article 2. Mandamus · Last amended 2009 · Last verified July 17, 2026
In one sentenceThis section lets a writ of mandamus compel an official to properly perform a duty whenever failure or improper performance causes a defect of legal justice and no other specific legal remedy exists, while barring mandamus to remove a judge when an available recusal motion was never filed or was already denied.
Full Text of § 9-6-20
Plain-English Summary
This is Georgia’s core mandamus statute — the rule that lets a court order a public official to do what the law already requires of him. The premise is direct: official duties should be faithfully performed, and when a failure to perform, or a botched performance, would produce what the statute calls a “defect of legal justice,” mandamus can step in to compel proper performance.
But mandamus is not available whenever someone is unhappy with an official’s conduct. The statute conditions relief on there being no other specific legal remedy for the legal rights at stake. If some other avenue exists to vindicate those rights, mandamus is not the tool.
The section then adds a pointed limit aimed at one recurring scenario: using mandamus to remove a judge. It will not issue for that purpose unless a motion to recuse was filed first, when such a motion was available, and it will not issue if a recusal motion was already denied after being assigned to a separate judge for hearing. That channels judge-removal disputes through the recusal process rather than around it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What two conditions must be met before a writ of mandamus can issue under this section?
There must be a defect of legal justice from a failure to perform or from improper performance of official duties, and there must be no other specific legal remedy for the legal rights involved.
Does mandamus require that no other legal remedy be available?
Yes. The section allows mandamus only “if there is no other specific legal remedy for the legal rights.”
Can mandamus be used to compel the removal of a judge?
Only in limited circumstances. The section bars mandamus to compel a judge’s removal where no motion to recuse has been filed, if such a motion was available, or where a recusal motion has already been denied after assignment to a separate judge for hearing.
What must happen with a recusal motion before mandamus to remove a judge could even be considered?
An available motion to recuse must be filed first; mandamus to remove a judge is not available if no such motion was filed when one was available.
What is a “defect of legal justice” as used in this section?
The section uses the phrase to describe the harm that results when an official duty is not performed, or is performed improperly, without further defining it beyond that context.
Amendment History
Orig. Code 1863, § 3130; Code 1868, § 3142; Code 1873, § 3198; Code 1882, § 3198; Civil Code 1895, § 4867; Civil Code 1910, § 5440; Code 1933, § 64-101; Ga. L. 2009, p. 643, § 1/HB 221.
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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