Is it legal for a judge to ban someone from their hometown as part of sentencing?

[ricky30643]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Georgia
My nephew has been offered a plea deal (for petty theft and assault) and part of the agreement is he will be banned from Hart County Georgia during his 10 years probation. He was told that he will not even be allowed to visit family during the 10 years.I've never heard of judges banning people from their city of residence but other people I've talked to said the judges in GA have been banning defendants from the county on a regular basis. One person I spoke was a probation officer and he said he didn't think it was legal for them to do that. I posted this to an attorney but it said my question may not be answered and directed me to this forum. Does anyone here know if this is legal or know of someone I could ask?

 

[quincy]

A 10 year probation for petty theft and assault, plus a banning from the county? Yikes.

What assault charge was he convicted on?

An attorney advised you to come to this forum for answers he could not provide?

Your nephew needs to speak with his attorney.

 

[single317dad]

I would question the wisdom of making such an order. How will it be enforced? How will probation monitor the defendant? This reeks of the old days of dropping ne'er-do-wells off at the state or county line and expecting they won't just come right back.

As quincy stated, your nephew definitely needs to discuss this with a qualified criminal defense attorney.

 

[Ohiogal]

Sentences must be spelled out in statute. If the statute does not allow for banning, that would be an abuse of discretion and illegal.

 

[quincy]

Here is a link to a law review paper written by Cameron Carpino (2010), "Banishment in Georgia: A New Approach to Domestic Violence," Georgia State University Law Review, Vol. 27: Iss. 4 Article 13:

http://readingroom.law.gsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2218&context=gsulr

The article discusses the history of banishment in Georgia and elsewhere. It is interesting.

 

[LdiJ]

Here is a link to a law review paper written by Cameron Carpino (2010), "Banishment in Georgia: A New Approach to Domestic Violence," Georgia State University Law Review, Vol. 27: Iss. 4 Article 13:

http://readingroom.law/gsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2218&context=gsulr

The article discusses the history of banishment in Georgia and elsewhere. It is interesting.

That link doesn't work...and I really wanted to read it.

 

[quincy]

That link doesn't work...and I really wanted to read it.

Sorry. The link should work now.

And I guess I probably should have answered the thread question, too.

Is it legal for a judge to ban someone from their hometown as part of sentencing?

The answer if you are in Georgia is: "Yes, it is legal* for a judge to ban someone from their hometown as part of sentencing, and this is ordered with some frequency for a whole host of offenses, not just domestic violence."





*unless the laws have changed recently, but I did not locate anything to indicate they have