Staff Analysis of the Legislation
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HB 56 amends O.C.G.A. ยง 17-5-21 to provide criteria and guidelines by which no-knock search warrants can be executed by law enforcement. New subsection (e) provides for definitions, criteria for the issuance of no-knock search warrants, and minimum requirements for guidelines and procedures to be adopted by law enforcement. The provisions for issuing a no-knock search warrant include compliance with the following: the no-knock search warrant must be executed between the hours of 6:00 am and 10:00 pm unless authorized for good cause by the judge, and the supporting affidavit/testimony of the warrant must establish that the act of knocking and announcing the officers presence would pose imminent danger to human life or the possibility of the destruction of evidence. HB 56 requires any law enforcement agency seeking a no-knock warrant to adopt new guidelines and procedures by September 1, 2015. Each law enforcement agency must designate an employee who might be qualified to serve as a supervising officer. All applications for no-knock search warrants must be approved by a supervising officer and a supervising officer must be present when the warrant is executed. The law enforcement agency must also have an operational plan in place for the execution of a no-knock search warrant, along with a relevant training program aimed at teaching law enforcement officials the application process and execution of a no-knock search warrant. HB 56 also provides for annual reporting by each court that issues search warrants to the Administrative Office of the Courts of the following data elements: the number of search warrants sought, issued, and executed; along with the number of no-knock requests contained within warrants sought, issued, and executed. The AOC shall provide a report on this data to the Governor, Lt. Governor and Speaker of the House an annual basis. |
