Civil Forfeiture Attorney Minneapolis, MN

Minnesota’s civil forfeiture laws allow police to seize your vehicle, firearm, money or other property without convicting you of a crime. Unfortunately, fighting to get your property back can often feel like a wild goose chase. The process can be long with strict deadlines and extensive paperwork.

The Minneapolis civil forfeiture attorneys at Brockton D. Hunter, P.A. know how to fight for the return of your property and have been helping Minnesotans do so for over 15 years.

In the United States, a person is considered and presumed innocent until they are proven guilty, however Minnesota’s asset forfeiture laws can turn that principle upside down. The state’s forfeiture laws say that your property is guilty until you prove it innocent. This means that under state and federal civil asset forfeiture laws, police can seize property that they suspect has been involved with criminal activity. Lawmakers in Minnesota have reformed these laws, making it so that police can only seize property after a conviction is made or if the property owner themselves confess to a crime connected to that piece of property.

Types of Asset Forfeiture Cases in Minnesota

There are two different types of forfeiture cases in the state:

• The first, criminal asset forfeiture, involves cases where the government seizes and forfeits private property from the owner after they have been convicted of a crime. This is sometimes known as Judicial Forfeiture since the owner themselves is provided proper criminal due process before their property is taken without just compensation.
• The second, civil asset forfeiture, involves the government seizing and forfeiting private property from the owner after giving notice to the owner of the action and without any criminal charge or conviction. This is known as Administrative Forfeiture. This occurs oftentimes with vehicles, boats, RVs and motorcycles.