2020 Georgia Code
Title 17 - Criminal Procedure
Chapter 14 - Restitution and Distribution of Profits to Victims of Crimes
Article 1 - Restitution
§ 17-14-6. Setoff of Prior Total or Partial Restitution Made to Victim; Reduction of Award From the Crime Victims Compensation Board by the Amount of Restitution; Payment of Restitution to Governmental Entities That Have Compensated the Victim

1. Where an offender has made total or partial restitution to a victim, the ordering authority shall set off any such amounts and reduce the amount payable to the victim.
2. The ordering authority shall not order restitution to be paid to a victim or victim's estate if the victim or victim's estate has received or is to receive full compensation for that loss from the offender as a result of a civil proceeding.
3. Any amount paid to a victim or victim's estate under a restitution order shall reduce the amount payable to a victim or a victim's estate by an award from the Georgia Crime Victims Compensation Board made prior to or after a restitution order under this article.
4. The ordering authority shall order restitution be paid to the Georgia Crime Victims Compensation Board, other governmental entities, or any individuals, partnerships, corporations, associations, or other legal entities acting on behalf of a governmental entity that have compensated the victim or the victim's estate for a loss incurred by the victim to the extent of the compensation paid for that loss. The ordering authority shall also order restitution for the costs of services provided to persons or entities that have provided services to the victim as a result of the crime. Services that are subject to restitution under this subsection include, but are not limited to, shelter, food, clothing, and transportation. However, a restitution order shall require that all restitution to a victim or victim's estate under the restitution order be made before any restitution to any other person or entity under that restitution order is made.
5. In the event the ordering authority provides for a setoff or priority in terms of payment of restitution, the ordering authority shall state on the record with specificity the reasons for its action.

(Code 1933, § 27-3006, enacted by Ga. L. 1980, p. 1382, § 1; Ga. L. 2005, p. 88, § 5/HB 172; Ga. L. 2006, p. 72, § 17/SB 465.)

- Ga. L. 2005, p. 88, § 1/HB 172, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: "This Act shall be known and may be cited as the 'Crime Victims Restitution Act of 2005.'"

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Restitution order proper.

- Because the defendant conceded to converting the funds of two victims when the defendant entered guilty pleas to two counts of theft by conversion under O.C.G.A. § 16-8-4, under O.C.G.A. § 17-14-7(b) the state was only required to establish the amounts taken from the victims that were expended on their behalf or were already repaid to the victims; the trial court's restitution order, which took those amounts into consideration, as required by O.C.G.A. § 17-14-6(a), was proper. Hartsell v. State, 288 Ga. App. 552, 654 S.E.2d 662 (2007).

- Defendant was not entitled to a reduction in the amount of restitution the defendant owed by the $5,300 the codefendant paid in restitution under O.C.G.A. § 17-14-6 because together the parties were only ordered to pay $30,000, and the evidence showed the defendants stole $43,000 from the victims. Polly v. State, 323 Ga. App. 893, 748 S.E.2d 696 (2013).

- Trial court erred in sentencing the defendant to pay restitution to the victim's estate under O.C.G.A. § 17-14-6(b). The estate dismissed the estate's civil claims against the defendant with prejudice after the parties settled. Taylor v. State, 295 Ga. App. 689, 673 S.E.2d 7, aff'd, 286 Ga. 328, 687 S.E.2d 409 (2009).

- Trial court erred in ordering the defendant to pay restitution in the amount of $7,584.35 to the Crime Victim Compensation Program and $1,000 in token restitution to the victim because the record contained no evidence to support the awards as the state presented no evidence supporting the court's request for $7,584.35, and the record did not show that the trial court considered the factors outlined in O.C.G.A. § 17-14-10(a) before requiring restitution as a condition of probation. Watts v. State, 321 Ga. App. 289, 739 S.E.2d 129 (2013).

Cited in Barnes v. State, 239 Ga. App. 495, 521 S.E.2d 425 (1999).