Current through 2023-2024 Legislative Session Chapter 374
Section 16-5-95 - Offense of violating family violence order; penalty(a) As used in this Code section, the term: (1) "Civil family violence order" means any temporary protective order or permanent protective order issued pursuant to Article 1 of Chapter 13 of Title 19.(2) "Criminal family violence order" means: (A) Any order of pretrial release issued as a result of an arrest for an act of family violence; or(B) Any order for probation issued as a result of a conviction or plea of guilty, nolo contendere, or first offender to an act of family violence.(3) "Family violence" shall have the same meaning as set forth in Code Section 19-13-1.(b) A person commits the offense of violating a civil family violence order or criminal family violence order when such person knowingly and in a nonviolent manner violates the terms of such order issued against that person, which: (1) Excludes, evicts, or excludes and evicts the person from a residence or household;(2) Directs the person to stay away from a residence, workplace, or school;(3) Restrains the person from approaching within a specified distance of another person; or(4) Restricts the person from having any contact, direct or indirect, by telephone, pager, facsimile, e-mail, or any other means of communication with another person, except as specified in such order.(c) Any person convicted of a violation of subsection (b) of this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.(d) Nothing contained in this Code section shall prohibit a prosecution for the offense of stalking or aggravated stalking that arose out of the same course of conduct; provided, however, that, for purposes of sentencing, a violation of this Code section shall be merged with a violation of any provision of Code Section 16-5-90 or 16-5-91 that arose out of the same course of conduct.Amended by 2013 Ga. Laws 207,§ 1, eff. 5/6/2013.Added by 2003 Ga. Laws 298, § 1, eff. 7/1/2003.