The police took my money and car-can I get it back?

Being arrested for felony charges is shocking enough, but most people are confused by the police department's decision to seize a vehicle involved in the offense or money found on the arrestee.  The Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act provides law enforcement a civil court, as opposed to criminal court, tool to punish felony offenders.  The process allowed local Florida police agencies to collect more than $68 million over one recent five year period.

Our state legislature has been dominated by conservative lawmakers recently, and everybody knows that "tough on crime" politics plays better to the voting public than the alternative.  But a majority of those conservatives also frowned on the government's increasing ability to take away a citizen's property rights.  The 2016 revision to the Contraband Forfeiture Act represents an important shift to the benefit of many of my clients.

The seizing agency is now required to pay a $1000 filing fee and post a $1500 bond before beginning the process of permanently retaining any contraband article.  In practice, it doesn't make fiscal sense for the agency to try to keep cash amounts less than the combined $2500.  Most police or sheriff's departments will authorize their legal counsel to engage in settlement discussions with the arrestee, also called a claimant.  I have also found that the police will generally return vehicles to claimants who, even if they are not considered "innocent owners," do not have a significant amount of equity in the car.

The amendments also increased the burden on the police to prove their case in civl court so that it matches the standard in criminal court, beyond a reasonable doubt.  If the law enforcement agency loses, they are on the hook for a defendant's attorney's fees and costs if the Court finds that it acted in bad faith or grossly abused its discretion.

The recent changes to the FCFA are a welcome reformation of the civil asset forfeiture process.  They more closely reflect the presumption of innocence that is a cornerstone of our republic.  Feel free to contact Board Certified Criminal Trial Attorney Daniel Fischetti for more information.