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At the risk of getting flamed, I have to speak out on this topic. As a former detective that dealt in asset forfeiture, the examples given don’t explain the vast majority of forfeiture and how it actually works.

There are only two ways that a police department can seize anything. It has to be either through “facilitation”, ie: the use of an automobile to commit a crime, or through “proceeds” which would be the “fruits” of criminal activity.

There is ALWYS an underlying offense. I can’t take money away from you just because you have it. I CAN seize money if a drug dog alerts on it, although this is tougher today because of the amount of drug-tainted money in circulation. Or, if as a result of our financial investigation you show an annual income of $25,000 and drive a brand new $200,000 dollar fully paid for automobile with no explanation of how you paid for it. And there still has to be an underlying offense.

This only gives me probable cause for the seizure. I still have to notify the “owner” via certified mail that the item was seized and I work with a prosecutor to present a case before a judge at a forfeiture hearing. The judge reviews the EVIDENCE of either facilitation or proceeds and determines if the state has met the threshold for forfeiture. The person who claims the property has the right to present his case and the judge makes a determination. It is not up to the officer to make the determination. It is a court hearing.

The burden is ALWAYS on the state to show either facilitation or proceeds. In many instances, a drug dealer will place the vehicle in the name of a third party to escape forfeiture. In those rare instances, the third party either fails to show up for a hearing or walks away from the car because he doesn’t want to become involved in the larger drug investigation.

Anyone who says they know of someone who had their property “stolen” through forfeiture laws doesn’t know the entire story. I’ve done way too many investigations to buy into this.