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Bill to standardize peace-officer oaths draws questions about accountability and criminal thresholds
Summary
House Bill 384 would standardize the oath for peace officers and limit criminal prosecutions under the ‘‘violation of oath’’ statute to specified statutory oaths; proponents said the change prevents misdemeanor-based felony prosecutions of officers, while some judges and members expressed concern about lowering standards.
Representative Seebaugh presented House Bill 384 (LC560283), proposing a uniform oath for all Georgia peace officers and limiting criminal prosecutions under the state's violation-of-oath statute to only those oaths explicitly prescribed by state law. The sponsor said the measure would treat aspirational agency oaths as non-criminal and would prevent prosecutors from converting noncriminal policy violations into felony violations of oath.
Lance Russo, general…
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