why doesnt the county just return the cash seized from the house without us having to file papers with the courts, pay a fee, and produce proof of all income, expenses, etc. for the past 5 years? This person has never been convicted of any prior sales charges.
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It is there way of catching tax evasion they might otherwise miss… the sneaky b*stards
In California all narcotics asset forfeitures have to be based on a felony drug-related conviction so the information related in your question is somehow in error. Either someone involved has a felony case pending, or someone involved has voluntarily signed off on the assets giving them to law enforcement by claiming that they didn’t have an interest. “I know there’s a lot of marijuana growing in that house, but it’s not my house….”
The siezure clause of the anti drug statute is nothing short of a license to steal.
Convicting someone of a crime requires “proof beyond a reasonable doubt.” That is a very high standard. If the prosecution believes it cannot meet that standard of proof, then the prosecution will drop the case.
The money is a separate issue. Retaining money requires only “probable cause” that the money is the product of illegal drug transactions. “Probable cause” is an extremely easy hurdle.
Once there is probable cause to retain money, it is up to the purported owner of the money to prove, by preponderance of evidence, that the money was NOT the product of illegal drug transactions.
You are not necessarily required to produce proof of income, or expenses, or whatever. BUT, since it is YOUR burden to prove the seized money was not illicit money, you need to provide some sort of evidence that the money was legal. Proof of income is one way, and probably the best way, to prove the money was legitimate.