Do I Get Credit for My Time Served?

October 1, 2021 | By analytics

You may have spent a significant amount of time in jail before bonding out or being sentenced for a crime. If you did, then I am sure you are curious about whether or not you will receive credit for the time you spent in custody before being sentenced.

Let’s take a look at what Georgia law says about getting credit for time served in custody.

Credit for Time in Served in Georgia Criminal Cases – O.C.G.A. 17-10-11

O.C.G.A. § 17-10-11 sets forth clear guidelines for when a person must receive credit for time served and other times, when a judge may decide not to grant credit for time served. In some situations the judge must grant credit for the time served, and even where the judge doesn’t have to give the credit for time served, he or she may still choose to do so.

When the Judge Must Give Credit for Time Served

When a person in Georgia is convicted of a crime, they will be given full credit for any time they served in a penal institution or the time they spent in a facility or institution where they are receiving treatment for a mental or emotional illness, a developmental disability, or an addictive disease.

This means that if someone sits in jail for a period of twelve months before they are sentenced for a crime, then the judge must give them credit for that time. Additionally, if someone was in an institution receiving treatment for addiction then the judge would be required to grant credit for that time served upon sentencing.

When the Judge May Choose to Give Credit or Not Give Credit

There are other situations when a judge may choose whether or not to grant someone credit for the time they served awaiting the resolution of their case.

The judge may exclude the credit if the person convicted is going to complete a program at a probation detention center. Additionally, the court may exclude credit for the time served if they are being sentenced to a work-release program. Finally, a court may choose not to grant credit for time served if they are sentencing a person for a misdemeanor offense and the time that person served was in a different jurisdiction than where they are being sentenced.

Contact Us for Answers to Your Credit for Time Served Questions

If you have questions about your case and whether you will credit for the time you served or not, please contact us. You can call us or text us 24/7 and we look forward to helping you with your case.