Georgia § 40-5-124 - Jurisdiction of offenses.

§ 40-5-124. Jurisdiction of offenses.

Any person charged with an offense under this chapter may be tried in any municipal court of any municipality if the offense occurred within the corporate limits of such municipality. Such courts are granted the jurisdiction to try and dispose of such cases. The jurisdiction of such courts shall be concurrent with the jurisdiction of any other courts within the county having jurisdiction to try and dispose of such cases. Any fines and bond forfeitures arising from the prosecution of such cases shall be retained by the municipality and shall be paid into the treasury of such municipality. Any person charged with an offense under this chapter shall be entitled to request to have the case against him transferred to the court having general misdemeanor jurisdiction in the county wherein the alleged offense occurred. Nothing in this Code section shall be construed to give any municipality the right to impose a fine or punish by imprisonment in excess of the limits as set forth in the municipality's charter. (Code 1933, § 68B-405, enacted by Ga. L. 1977, p. 1038, § 1; Ga. L. 1987, p. 3, § 40; Ga. L. 1990, p. 2048, § 4; Ga. L. 2015, p. 693, § 3-32/HB 233.) Editor's notes. - Ga. L. 2015, p. 693, § 4-1/HB 233, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: "This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2015, and shall apply to seizures of property for forfeiture that occur on or after that date. Any such seizure that occurs before July 1, 2015, shall be governed by the statute in effect at the time of such seizure." Cross references. - Prosecution of traffic offenses generally, T. 40, C. 13. Law reviews. - For article on the 2015 amendment of this Code section, see 32 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 1 (2015).