Civil judicial forfeiture proceedings

A civil judicial forfeiture proceeding is one type of asset forfeiture proceeding that an individual who has been involved in illegal marijuana-related activities may face. Asset forfeiture proceedings involve the government seizing an individual’s property (without offering compensation) that it believes is “reasonably connected” to the criminal activity, either as an aid in the activity or as a profit from the activity. A civil judicial forfeiture proceeding may be presented to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in one of three ways: by the seizing agency because the property seized must be forfeited judicially (as opposed to non-judicially), by the seizing agency because a claim and cost bond (an instrument used to contest an administrative forfeiture, which is a type of non-judicial forfeiture proceeding) has been filed for the property in an administrative forfeiture proceeding or prior to seizure if the investigating agency thinks that it must first obtain a warrant before seizing the property. There are certain rules that the seizing or investigating agency must follow when initiating this type of claim as well as certain rules that the U.S. Attorney must then follow when considering whether to proceed with the forfeiture, which is why it is so important for an individual accused of any marijuana-related offense to contact the skilled California criminal attorneys at The Kavinoky Law Firm who have an in-depth understanding of the rules and regulations that are involved in asset forfeiture and who therefore know how to best protect their client’s rights and assets.

Civil judicial forfeiture proceedings involve property that may not be forfeited non-judicially. This type of property, as it pertains to marijuana or other drug-related activities, may therefore include: (1) property that exceeds $500,000 in value and which is forfeitable pursuant to U.S. Customs procedures and is not a transporting vehicle (for marijuana, for example), an item that has been illegally imported or a monetary instrument (that is, any domestic or foreign money, traveler’s checks, stocks, checks, bank notes and money orders), (2) property that is forfeitable pursuant to IRS procedures that exceeds $100,000, (3) all real property (homes, buildings, etc.) regardless of its value, (4) all property that is lawfully forfeitable but doesn’t incorporate Customs laws or the Internal Revenue Code and (5) all property that has been contested by a claim and cost bond (which, again, is an instrument used to contest an administrative, non-judicial forfeiture proceeding).

When a complaint for a civil forfeiture is filed, the complaint must articulate exactly what property is being sought and how it is reasonably connected to the alleged illegal marijuana-related activity so that the property owner is able to immediately begin an investigation into the facts and is able to respond appropriately. The complaint should therefore contain the basis for the court’s jurisdiction (that is, the basis for the court’s authority), a description of the property, the place and date of the seizure, the seizing agency and the circumstances that justify the forfeiture. If these items aren’t specifically addressed or if the proper notice requirements aren’t given to the property owner, he or she may be entitled to either have the property returned or to be compensated for its value.

Defenses to a civil judicial forfeiture are numerous but only an experienced attorney will know when, which and how to most effectively present them. Examples include situations where the underlying crime that serves as the basis for the forfeiture never occurred, that all or part of the seized property had an independent innocent source and wasn’t used illegally, that “clean” money has been commingled with “dirty” money and that the clean money shouldn’t be subject to forfeiture or that the owner is an “innocent owner” and didn’t know about or had nothing to do with the illegal acts that gave rise to the forfeiture.

Civil judicial forfeiture proceedings are clearly technical and complex and require the skill of a qualified lawyer. For more information on asset forfeiture and to retain the best representation, contact the outstanding attorneys at The Kavinoky Law Firm today for a free consultation.