Am I subject to asset forfeiture in drug possession or drug dealing cases?

State and federal governments have reaped millions and millions of dollars from people who have money seized from them or assets seized for them, allegedly because they were involved in drug dealing. They take real property, such as homes and warehouses, boats, cars, airplanes. They also take cash. Lately, there has been a rash of automobiles being stopped, cash being taken, and not actually just from automobiles, but from residences, when no charges are filed and the police keep the money using the false and absurd basis for it as a drug dog alerted. We’ll talk about drug dog alerts at another time, but the bottom line is, if you are convicted of drug charges, yes, assets can be seized and forfeited. So, for example, if the house is used as a grow house, that house can be seized and forfeited. If drugs are transported on a boat or another conveyance such as a car or an airplane, those conveyances can be seized. And, yes, cash can be seized, as well as the proceeds from drug dealing, such as fancy watches, jewelry, etcetera.

By Jeffrey S. Weiner, P.A.