An order for restitution shall not bar any civil action against the offender. However, any payments made by an offender to a victim under an order for restitution may be a setoff against any judgment awarded to the victim in a civil action based on the same facts for which restitution was ordered. The fact of restitution or a restitution order under this article shall not be placed before the jury on the issue of liability. If the amount of restitution made is in dispute and liability is established, the court shall order further appropriate proceedings to determine the amount of setoff.
(Code 1933, § 27-3011, enacted by Ga. L. 1980, p. 1382, § 1; Ga. L. 2005, p. 88, § 5/HB 172.)
Editor's notes.- 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 is not synonymous with civil damages. Morrison v. State, 181 Ga. App. 440, 352 S.E.2d 622 (1987).
Cited in Jones v. State, 246 Ga. App. 857, 542 S.E.2d 584 (2000); Patterson v. State, 289 Ga. App. 663, 658 S.E.2d 210 (2008); Patterson v. State, 289 Ga. App. 663, 658 S.E.2d 210 (2008).