GA 17-5-50 - GA 17-5-50

JUDICIAL DECISIONS Section not restricted to claims between defendant and alleged owner. - Although O.C.G.A. § 17-5-50 would normally appear to be a procedure for the consideration of conflicting claims between a defendant in a criminal case and the person from whom property might have been stolen or illegally obtained, the statutory language does not restrict it solely to such use but provides a method by which the state and any civil claimants might resolve the claim between them and the defendant. Thus, there is no reason that when a defendant makes a request for the return of the defendant's property that other claimants might not then be heard through the use of this procedure. Recoba v. State, 167 Ga. App. 447 , 306 S.E.2d 713 (1983) (decided prior to 1982 amendment). One week's prio...