Civil Asset Forfeiture in Pasco
Law enforcement officers in Pasco County, seize property for forfeiture including U.S. currency, vehicles, and other valuable property.
The attorneys at Sammis Law Firm are familiar with the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act and the standard operating procedures used by the Florida Highway Patrol, the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, the police departments in Dade City, Zephyrhills, Port Richey, and New Port Richey.
After the seizure, you must act quickly to demand an adversarial preliminary hearing or file a claim for court action.
Attorney for Property Seized for Forfeiture in Pasco
If you are accused of using a vehicle to commit a serious crime, then the vehicle might be seized as an “instrumentality in the commission of the felony.” Likewise, law enforcement agencies in Pasco County, FL, seize other types of valuable property including U.S. Currency (cash or money) and jewelry.
The civil asset forfeiture attorneys at Sammis Law Firm can help you file a claim for court action or demand an adversarial preliminary hearing.
With offices in New Port Richey, directly across from the West Pasco Judicial Cente, we are here to help.
Call (727) 807-6392.
Provisions of the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act
Under the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act, any personal property, including, but not limited to, property of any kind, which was used or was attempted to be used as an instrumentality in the commission of, or in aiding or abetting in the commission of, any felony, whether or not comprising an element of the felony, is a contraband article pursuant to Section 932.701(2)(a) of the Florida Statutes.
Read more about civil asset forfeiture in Pasco County, FL.
Florida law prohibits concealing or possessing any contraband article or using any contraband article as an instrumentality in the commission of any felony or violation of the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act pursuant to Section 932.702 of the Florida Statutes. For this reason, any vessel, vehicle, or other personal property which has been or is being used in violation of any provision of Section 932.702, Fla. Stat., is subject to forfeiture. § 932.703(1)(a), Fla. Stat.
Furthermore, a vehicle can be subject to forfeiture as an instrumentality in the commission of a felony if the vehicle is used to transport the individual to a site of criminal activity. See Deckham v. State, 478 So. 2d 347, 348-49 (Fla. 1985).
Florida law also prohibits transporting, carrying, or conveying any contraband article in, upon, or by means of any property, motor vehicle, or aircraft, under Section 932.702 of the Florida Statutes. For this reason, the use of any motor vehicle, aircraft, other personal property, or real property to facilitate the transportation, carriage, conveyance, concealment, receipt, possession, purchase, sale, barter, exchange, or giving away of any contraband article is prohibited under § 932.702, Fla. Stat.
Under the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act, [i]n any incident in which possession of any contraband article defined in s. 932.701(2)(a) constitutes a felony, the vessel, motor vehicle, . . . [or] other personal property . . . in or on which such contraband article is located at the time of seizure shall be contraband subject to forfeiture.” Additionally,
[i]t shall be presumed in the manner provided in s. 90.302(2) that the vessel, motor vehicle, . . . [or] other personal property . . . in which or on which such contraband article is located at the time of seizure is being used or was attempted or intended to be used in a manner to facilitate the transportation, carriage, conveyance, concealment, receipt, possession, purchase, sale, barter, exchange, or giving away of a contraband article defined in s. 932.701(2).
§ 932.703(4), Fla. Stat.
This article was last updated on Wednesday, November 23, 2021.
