A drug case occurs. Money is seized.
A car is stopped and 10 pounds of pot are in it. The vehicle is seized.
A phone is seized that is suspected of being used to set up drug sales.
A gun is used and is seized during the investigation.
Seizure and forfeiture happens all the time. I recently had a not guilty verdict as a Bucks County criminal lawyer where my client was accused of shooting a gun at people to terrorize or assault them. He was NOT GUILTY. The State Troopers refused to give his shotgun back. I fought them through the forfeiture act and won.
An item is seized for investigation. An item is forfeited if the Commonwealth wants to keep it.
Title 42 Chapter 58 controls Forfeiture of Assets, which was amended recently in August 2017.
The change, according to the Governor, involves:
- Higher burdens of proof imposed on the Commonwealth;
- Protection for third-party owners by placing an additional burden of proof on the Commonwealth;
- Improved transparency in auditing and reporting;
- Specific and additional protection in real property cases by prohibiting the pre-forfeiture seizure of real property without a hearing, and;
- An extra level of protection for anyone acquitted of a related crime who is seeking the return of their property.
The new law requires a showing that the property is tied to criminal activity by "clear and convincing evidence." Previously, it was a "preponderance of the evidence."
Additionally, a person whose car is seized, for example, could petition to keep the vehicle if they can show that someone in the household needs the vehicle to be able to get back and forth from work.
Another positive change: The new law prevents law enforcement from evicting people from a home before a forfeiture hearing. The only exception is if the government can demonstrate to a judge that alleged criminal activity is likely to continue there, or the property will be sold or destroyed if police don't get it earlier.