Georgia § 45-9-21 - Defense of civil, criminal, or quasi-criminal actions in lieu of insurance.

§ 45-9-21. Defense of civil, criminal, or quasi-criminal actions in lieu of insurance.

In lieu of obtaining the insurance or indemnity referred to in Code Section 45-9-20 or in addition thereto, such municipalities, counties, and other public bodies may, in their discretion, as a part of the compensation and terms of employment of members of the governing bodies of such municipalities, counties, and other public bodies, and of supervisors, administrators, employees, or other elected or appointed officers, adopt policies whereby the municipality, county, and other public body will undertake to defend all or specified civil, criminal, or quasi-criminal actions brought or maintained against members of the municipality, county, or other public body, or against supervisors, administrators, employees, or other elected or appointed municipal or county officers, arising out of the performance of their duties or in any way connected therewith, whether based upon negligence, violation of contract rights, or violation of civil, constitutional, common law, or statutory rights. The governing authority of a municipality, county, or other public body shall not be authorized to furnish a defense to any person charged with a criminal offense involving theft, embezzlement, or other like crime with respect to the property or money of or in which said governmental entity has an interest. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) of this Code section, the governing authority of a municipality, county, or other public body shall be authorized to reimburse any person charged with a criminal offense involving theft, embezzlement, or other like crime with respect to the property or money of or in which said governmental entity has an interest for all or a part of the cost of the defense of such person if such person is found not guilty of such crime or if the charges against such person are dismissed or nolle prossed. A municipality, county, or other public body may expend state, federal, and local funds to effectuate the provisions of this Code section, including, but not limited to, attorney's fees, court costs, deposition costs, witness fees and compensation, and all other like costs, expenses, and fees. As used in this subsection, the term "county officer" means the sheriff, the judge of the probate court, the clerk of the superior court, and the tax commissioner or tax collector and tax receiver of a county. In any civil case in which the county attorney has a conflict of interest which would ethically prevent the county attorney from representing both the county, the governing authority of the county, or another county officer or employee and the county officer, upon a determination by the chief judge of the superior court of the circuit in which the county is located that an ethical conflict exists, the county officer shall be authorized to employ individual legal counsel to represent such county officer in such matter. The governing authority of the county shall pay the reasonable fees of such individual counsel and all applicable court costs, deposition costs, witness fees and compensation, and all other like reasonable costs, expenses, and fees; provided, however, that such attorneys' fees shall be no more than the rate paid to the county attorney for similar representation or in accordance with a schedule of rates for outside counsel adopted by the governing authority, if any. Such fees and costs shall be authorized by the chief judge of the superior court of the circuit in which the county is located. This subsection shall not apply unless the governing authority of the county has first denied a written request by a county officer for counsel. (Ga. L. 1974, p. 702, § 3; Ga. L. 1991, p. 1821, § 1; Ga. L. 1995, p. 1063, § 1.) Law reviews. - For article, "Personal Liability of State Officials Under State and Federal Law," see 9 Ga. L. Rev. 821 (1975). For article on insurance and indemnity for Georgia local government officers under Georgia law, see 13 Ga. L. Rev. 747 (1979). For annual survey of local government law, see 57 Mercer L. Rev. 289 (2005).