Motion for Return of Property

If a law enforcement officer took your property, you might need a criminal defense attorney to file a “motion for the return of the property” on your behalf.

Your attorney might file and draft the following documents:

• Defendant’s Motion to Return Property;
• Notice of Hearing; and
• Proposed Order.

Special rules apply to motions for the return of firearms.

After the motion is filed in the appropriate division, your attorney will contact the judicial assistant in that division so that a court date can be set for the consideration of the motion.

The judicial assistants in each division have different policies and procedures that must be followed when these types of motions are filed and scheduled for a hearing.

After the date is cleared by the judicial assistant, your attorney will file a notice of hearing that is served on the State Attorney’s Office and the legal counsel for the law enforcement agency holding your property.

The law enforcement agency holding your property might include either:

Misdemeanor cases are filed in the County Court, and felony cases are filed in Circuit Court.

Sample Motion for Return of Property

IN THE COUNTY / CIRCUIT COURT OF THE THIRTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
IN AND FOR HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FLORIDA

CRIMINAL JUSTICE DIVISION

STATE OF FLORIDA,                       CASE NUMBER: __________

vs.                                                          DIVISION: _______

DEFENDANT.

DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR RETURN OF PROPERTY

     COMES NOW, the Defendant, through the undersigned counsel, and requests that this Honorable Court enter an order requiring the State of Florida, through the Tampa Police Department / Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, to return certain property to the defendant and as grounds would show as follows:

1.  The Defendant was arrested on ____ by _______ (the agency).
2. After the arrest, the agency seized certain property from the Defendant including:
   a. ______
   b. ______
3. The property is not contraband and is not being used as evidence in the underlying case.
4. Allowing the agency to seize and maintain personal property without due process of the law violates the Defendant’s rights under the Constitutions of both the State of Florida and the United States of America.

WHEREFORE, Defendant, through counsel, respectfully requests this Honorable Court to enter its order requiring the State of Florida and the agency to return to the undersigned all personal property in their possession not found to be contraband or used as evidence in any criminal proceeding.

I HEREBY CERTIFY that a copy of the foregoing motion has been furnished to the Office of the State Attorney of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit at _______ and the agency holding the property at _________, on this ___ day of 2022.

This article was last updated on Wednesday, January 11, 2022.