The Minnesota Supreme Court recently affirmed a law as constitutional that allows police to seize property of a person if it was used in the commission of a crime, even if they weren’t the ones committing the crime. The case in question involves Megan Olson and her mother Helen. Megan was no stranger to the […]
Crime-related Forfeitures Increase in 2011
Minnesota law enforcement officials reported that there were 6,338 cases of vehicle, cash, or property forfeiture in 2011. State Auditor Rebecca Otto said the total increased from 2010, when there were 4,604 forfeitures. She said the spike in forfeiture was likely related to mandated changes in the forfeiture process. The change in forfeiture procedures resulted […]
Vehicle Forfeiture Part 6: Pending Forfeiture
What happens to a vehicle while the forfeiture is pending? When a vehicle is seized, there is often a long waiting period before the judicial determination. During this time, many owners wonder what happens to their vehicle—this depends entirely on the underlying offense of the forfeiture. If a vehicle was forfeited for a DWI offense, […]
Vehicle Forfeiture Part 4: Negotiations Fail… Now What?
When dealing with vehicle forfeitures, the Forfeiture Coordinators at Appelman Law Firm always prefer to negotiate the return of the vehicle to its owner. However, this isn’t always an option for every client. When we cannot negotiate the return of the vehicle, we must approach the forfeiture with a different tactic. In certain cases, many […]
Vehicle Forfeiture Series Part 3: Innocent Owner Defense
In the last two parts of the Vehicle Forfeiture Series, we discussed forfeiture in a nutshell and the conditions of vehicle forfeiture. Today, we will focus on a crucial defense when fighting vehicle forfeiture: The Innocent Owner Defense. This defense is applicable when the vehicle was forfeited as the result of actions by a person […]
