Drug Seizure Laws Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Drug Seizure Laws - Assignment Example However in the pursuit of such forfeiture, care must be taken to ensure that those who are innocent do not unfairly suffer the same consequences. Introduction The application of the laws that ensure that the profits or benefits obtained from criminal enterprise are forfeited by the state brings about with it a myriad of challenges and obstacles. The most difficult one is working out exactly what parts of this benefit can be directly linked to the drug-associated criminal activity and which parts are not. Care must be taken to ensure that those who may have inadvertently and innocently found themselves assisting in the commission of such crime are absolved of their involvement and that they do not suffer unduly due to the activities others, especially when it can be proven that they had no knowledge of it and did actively participate. The process of such determination is purely in the hands of the investigators and it is their responsibility to ensure that those who are innocent do no t suffer while at the same time ensuring that as much as possible of the proceeds of such crime is recoverable and recovered. 1. If a house was rented but was found to be used for illegal drug-related activities, it can still be seized by the authorities since it was being used in the commission of a drug-related crime under the civil forfeiture regulations. Under these regulations the police have the right to seize any such properties (Silveira, 2010). The detail of exactly how this happens varies from State to State. In Minnesota for example the police are supposed to notify the landlord if drugs valued at more than $100 are found in a rented property. The landlord is then expected to get the tenant to vacate the property. If that doesn’t happen and a second seizure of drugs takes place then the property is liable to judicial forfeiture. Similarly if a stash of drugs valued at over $1,000 is found at a rented property it may also be seized (Pirius, 2010). In a case reported in Orange County, Southern California, a Tony Jalali’s property was seized after it was found to be used for illegal drug-related activities (Bullock & Salzman, 2013). 2. If the car belongs to a relative, the car is still liable for civil forfeiture. A car that is used for the committing of a drug-related offence and especially one that is used as a possible means of escape from lawful arrest is liable for forfeiture regardless of whether the person that was using it at the time was the legal owner or not. According to the Minnesota Forfeiture laws, as long as the retail value of the drugs is $75, the vehicle is still forfeitable. In Court, the legal owner would have to prove that they have a defense against the forfeiture or that seizure of the vehicle would cause undue hardship to the members of the owner’s family for the vehicle to be released back to them (Pirius, 2010).In many cases, proceeds from the sale of vehicles collected under the drug-related seizure laws are usually ploughed into the operations of law enforcement so it is their interest to seize as many of these as possible as it goes directly to their budget, creating an incentive for the policemen to seize such vehicles.