Oklahoma § 21-2002 - Seizures - Forfeiture or release - Hearing - Bona fide

§ 21-2002. Seizures - Forfeiture or release - Hearing - Bona fide

claims - Liens - Attorney fees - Proceeds of sale - Common carriers.

A. Any commissioned peace officer of this state is authorized

to seize any currency, negotiable instrument, monetary instrument,

equipment or property used or involved in, used to facilitate,

delivered from or traceable to a violation of Section 2001 of this

title. The seized item may be held as evidence until a forfeiture

has been declared or a release ordered. Forfeiture actions under

this section may be brought by the district attorney or Attorney

General in the proper county of venue as petitioner; provided, in

the event the district attorney or Attorney General elects not to

file such action, or fails to file such action within ninety (90)

days of the date of the seizure of the item, the item shall be

returned to the owner.

B. Notice of seizure and intended forfeiture proceeding shall

be filed in the office of the clerk of the district court for the

county wherein the item is seized and shall be given all owners and

parties in interest.

C. Notice shall be given according to one of the following

methods:

1. Upon each owner, lienholder, or party in interest whose name

and address is known, served in the manner of service of process in

civil cases prescribed by Section 2004 of Title 12 of the Oklahoma

Statutes; or

2. Upon all other owners, whose addresses are unknown, but who

are believed to have an interest in the property by one publication

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 21. Crimes and Punishments

in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the

seizure was made.

D. Within sixty (60) days after the mailing or publication of

the notice, the owner of the property and any other party in

interest or claimant may file a verified answer and claim to the

item described in the notice of seizure and of the intended

forfeiture proceeding.

E. If at the end of sixty (60) days after the notice has been

mailed or published there is no verified answer on file, the court

shall hear evidence upon the fact of the unlawful use and may order

the item forfeited to the state, if such fact is proven.

F. If a verified answer is filed, the forfeiture proceeding

shall be set for hearing.

G. Proceedings under this section shall be special proceedings.

H. At the hearing the petitioner shall prove by a preponderance

of the evidence that property was used in the attempt or commission

of an act specified in subsection A of this section with knowledge

by the owner of the item.

I. The claimant of any right, title, or interest in the item

may prove the lien, mortgage, or conditional sales contract to be

bona fide and that the right, title, or interest created by the item

was created without any knowledge or reason to believe that the item

was being, or was to be, used for the purpose charged.

J. In the event of such proof, the court may order the item

released to the bona fide or innocent owner, lienholder, mortgagee,

or vendor if the amount due such person is equal to, or in excess

of, the value of the item as of the date of the seizure, it being

the intention of this section to forfeit only the right, title, or

interest of the purchaser.

K. If the amount due to such person is less than the value of

the item, or if no bona fide claim is established, the item may be

forfeited to the state and may be sold pursuant to judgment of the

court, as on sale upon execution, and as provided in Section 2-508

of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes, except as otherwise provided

for by law.

L. A seized item taken or detained pursuant to this section

shall not be repleviable, but shall be deemed to be in the custody

of the petitioner or in the custody of the law enforcement agency.

The petitioner shall release the seized item to the owner of the

item if it is determined that the owner had no knowledge of the

illegal use of the item or if there is insufficient evidence to

sustain the burden of showing illegal use of the item. If the owner

of the property stipulates to the forfeiture and waives the hearing,

the petitioner may determine if the value of the item is equal to or

less than the outstanding lien. If such lien exceeds the value of

the item, the item may be released to the lienholder. A seized item

which has not been released by the petitioner shall be subject to

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 21. Crimes and Punishments

the orders and decrees of the court or the official having

jurisdiction thereof.

M. Attorney fees shall not be assessed against the state or the

petitioner for any actions or proceeding pursuant to this section.

N. The proceeds of the sale of any property shall be

distributed as follows, in the order indicated:

1. To the bona fide or innocent purchaser, conditional sales

vendor, or mortgagee of the item, if any, up to the amount of the

interest of that person in the property, when the court declaring

the forfeiture orders a distribution to such person;

2. To the payment of the actual reasonable expenses of

preserving the item;

3. To the victim of the crime to compensate the victim for any

loss incurred as a result of the act for which the item was

forfeited; and

4. The balance to a revolving fund in the office of the county

treasurer of the county wherein the property was seized, to be

distributed as follows: one-half (1/2) to the investigating law

enforcement agency and one-half (1/2) to the district attorney to be

used to defray any lawful expenses of the office of the district

attorney. If the petitioner is not the district attorney, then the

one-half (1/2) which would have been designated to that office shall

be distributed to the petitioner.

O. If the court finds that the item was not used in the attempt

or commission of an act specified in subsection A of this section

and was not an item subject to forfeiture pursuant to subsection B

of this section, the court shall order the item released to the

owner as the right, title, or interest as determined by the court.

P. No vehicle, airplane, or vessel used by a person as a common

carrier in the transaction of business as a common carrier shall be

forfeited pursuant to the provisions of this section unless it shall

be proven that the owner or other person in charge of such

conveyance was a consenting party or privy to the attempt or

commission of an act specified in subsection A or B of this section.

No item shall be forfeited pursuant to the provisions of this

section by reason of any act or omission established by the owner

thereof to have been committed or omitted without the knowledge or

consent of such owner, and by any person other than such owner while

the item was unlawfully in the possession of a person other than the

owner in violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of

any state.

Q. Whenever any item is forfeited pursuant to this section, the

district court having jurisdiction of the proceeding may order that

the forfeited item may be retained for its official use by the

state, county, or municipal law enforcement agency which seized the

item.

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 21. Crimes and Punishments

Added by Laws 2002, c. 381, § 3, eff. July 1, 2002. Amended by Laws

2011, c. 132, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 2011; Laws 2014, c. 409, § 2.