We granted certiorari to the Court of Appeals in Carlton v. State , 254 Ga. App. 653 563 SE2d 521 2002, to consider its determination in Division 2 that a detainer based on an arrest warrant for pending criminal charges triggers the protections of the Interstate Agreement on Detainers “IAD”, OCGA § 42-6-20.1 For the reasons which follow, we conclude that the IAD does not apply to arrest warrants, and we reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeals. The relevant facts are set forth in the opinion of the Court of Appeals. Walker County lodged a detainer against federal prisoner Thomas Carlton with the Federal Bureau of Prisons based on a warrant for Carlton’s arrest for violation of the Georgia Controlled Substances Act by possession of methamphetamine. The arrest warrant was based upon an affidavit and signed by a magistrate. It was forwarded to the original federal correctional facility having custody of Carlton by letter from the Walker County Sheriff’s Office. The letter, which was signed by the warrant officer, related information about Carlton and stated: Enclosed is a certified copy of an arrest warrant on file at the WALKER COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT, LAFAYETTE, GA. Please accept this letter and copy of the warrant as a detainer on the above named subject. Please advise when this subject is ready to be released from your facility. We will pick up subject. In response, Carlton demanded final disposition of the “indictments, informations, or complaints” pending against him. A federal correctional officer forwarded Carlton’s demand by letter, sent certified mail, to the district attorney. The letter was received by the clerk of the superior court and filed. When Carlton’s demand for disposition of the pending charges was not acted upon in the 180-day time frame provided in Art. III of the IAD, he moved for dismissal of the charges as provided in the IAD. The trial court denied the motion to dismiss on the ground that the IAD did not apply to cases in the warrant stage, that it required a formal charging instrument, i.e., an indictment or its equivalent. Following the grant of Carlton’s motion for an out-of-time appeal, he filed a direct appeal to the Court of Appeals.
The Court of Appeals reversed the judgment of the trial court, finding that the detainer based on the arrest warrant invoked the protections of the IAD.2 The Court found that the purpose and legislative history of the IAD demonstrated that the drafters intended for it to include protections for detainers based on arrest warrants. It concluded that a Georgia arrest warrant meets all the criteria of a “complaint,” as used in the IAD, that is, that such a warrant is the functional equivalent of a “complaint” for purposes of the IAD. But the analysis employed by the Court of Appeals is flawed and its ultimate conclusion unsound.
