Affirmative defenses to prosecution for violation of Code Sections 16-8-2 through 16-8-9

It is an affirmative defense to a prosecution for violation of Code Sections 16-8-2 through 16-8-9 that the person: (1) Was unaware that the property or service was that of another; (2) Acted under an honest claim of right to the property or service involved; (3) Acted under a right to acquire or dispose of the property as he or she did; provided, however, that the use of a power of attorney as provided in Chapter 6B of Title 10 shall not, in and of itself, absolve a person from criminal responsibility; or (4) Took property or service exposed for sale intending to purchase and pay for it promptly or reasonably believing that the owner, if present, would have consented. (Code 1933, § 26-1810, enacted by Ga. L. 1968, p. 1249, § 1; Ga. L. 2017, p. 435, § 3-2/HB 221.) The 2017 amendment, effective July 1, 2017, substituted ‘‘16-8-9’’ for ‘‘16-8-7’’ in the introductory paragraph; substituted the present provisions of paragraph (2) for the former provisions, which read: ‘‘Acted under an honest claim of right to the property or service involved or under a right to acquire or dispose of it as he did; or’’; added present paragraph (3); and redesignated former paragraph (3) as present paragraph (4).