By Jill Nolin | Editor
Georgia has had a First Offender Act on the books for decades. But until now, the criminal records were only sealed when someone completed the program, giving private background check companies time to scoop up the information. This year, Georgia lawmakers made a small but important change that is designed to give thousands of Georgians the second chance the law was originally intended to provide.
Georgia's First Offender Act is a type of deferred adjudication program where a judge can offer certain defendants a reduced sentence — such as a fine or probation — rather than a conviction. Photo by Greenleaf123/Getty Images
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
By Maya Homan
A mistake doesn’t have to be a life sentence.
That’s the promise of Georgia’s First Offender Act, which is meant to give residents who find themselves facing their first misdemeanor or qualifying felony charge a chance to avoid the stigma that comes with having a criminal record.
First enacted in 1968, the law is a type of deferred adjudication program where a judge can offer certain defendants a reduced sentence — such as a fine or probation — rather than a conviction. There are some limits — with charges like DUIs, serious violent felonies and certain sexual offenses among those that are considered disqualifying — but every year, between 8,000 and 11,000 Georgians enter a first offender plea.
But until this month, records for first offender pleas were generally sealed upon completion of the program instead of at the time of sentencing, meaning that they could be publicly available for years before being removed from public view.
President Donald Trump addresses the nation from the East Room of the White House on July 16, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Saul Loeb/Getty Images)
VOTING
By Jacob Fischler and Jacob Fischler
The nation’s election infrastructure is vulnerable to cyberattacks by foreign actors, President Donald Trump said during a primetime address Thursday night, citing a batch of documents he declassified — but providing no proof broad interference actually occurred or affected an election outcome.
Democrats and advocates quickly criticized the remarks as another attempt by Trump to give Republicans an advantage in crucial midterm elections and sow distrust of results, following his firing of members of the Election Assistance Commission, demands by his administration for state voter rolls, an executive order limiting mail-in ballots and more.
A potential Republican budget reconciliation package would provide up to $60 billion for the Department of Defense. Shown is an aerial view of the Pentagon. (Photo by Air Force Tech. Sgt. Brittany A. Chase/Department of Defense)
DC BUREAU
By Jennifer Shutt
Republicans on the U.S. House Budget Committee approved their budget resolution Thursday, marking one small step forward in the complicated process that could allow the party to enact a third party-line bill.
The 20-14 vote followed hours of debate over amendments from Democrats that sought to roll back pieces of the earlier Republican packages and change how the upcoming process would work. None of the Democratic changes were approved.
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