Opinion ID: 895228
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Disposition of Unclaimed Property Under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 18.17

Text: In his amicus curiae brief, the Solicitor General argues that property seized pursuant to Chapter 59 that is determined not to be contraband, but remains unclaimed, should be disposed of pursuant to Article 18.17 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. TEX.CODE CRIM. PROC. art. 18.17. Article 18.17 is intended to deal with the disposal of abandoned and unclaimed property. Id. That statute provides: [property that] remain[s] unclaimed for a period of 30 days shall be delivered for disposition to a person designated by the municipality or the purchasing agent of the county in which the property was seized. Id. art. 18.17(a). Huerta asserts that because the State failed to elect Article 18.17 as a remedy during trial, it waived this argument. However, Article 18.17 is not a remedy but a procedure implemented by the Legislature to dispose of [a]ll unclaimed or abandoned personal property of every kind that has been seized by the State and is not subject to the limited exceptions outlined in the statute. Id. Accordingly, the State is not foreclosed from seeking to dispose of the currency pursuant to Article 18.17, though we express no opinion on the subject.