California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Juan P. (In re Juan P.), A153067, A153968 (Cal. App. 2019):
We review the denial of Juan's motion for return of property for abuse of discretion. (See Buker v. Superior Court (1972) 25 Cal.App.3d 1085, 1090 [concluding that the denial of a motion for return of property in that case "constituted an abuse of discretion as a matter of law"].) Per section 1417, "[a]ll exhibits which have been introduced or filed in any criminal action or proceeding shall be retained by the clerk of the court . . . until final determination of the action or proceedings and the exhibits shall thereafter be distributed or disposed of as provided in this chapter." (Italics added.) It is,
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however, within the court's discretion to return property "prior to the final determination of the action upon stipulation of the parties or upon notice and motion, if no prejudice will be suffered by either party and a complete photographic record is made of the released exhibit." (People v. Lamonte (1997) 53 Cal.App.4th 544, 549, italics added; 1417.2.)3
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