How long can state or local police retain property or money seized through civil forfeiture before transferring it to the relevant federal agency?

Question

I recently watched the film Rebel Ridge (2024), where local police unjustly seized the protagonist's money under suspicion of being drug currency. Initially, I thought this was just fictional movie drama. However, after watching an Institute for Justice YouTube video about a Marine who had his money taken based on flimsy evidence, I realized that civil forfeiture is an actual legal process in the US.

From what I gathered from the Institute for Justice video, when state or local police seize cash or property, federal law enforcement takes over the forfeiture process. The federal agency handles the paperwork and legal proceedings, then kicks back up to 80% of the seized assets to the state agency that initially confiscated them.

In Rebel Ridge, the local police held onto the seized money for 3-4 days. This surprised me, as I would have expected them to hand it over to a federal agency, like the DEA, as soon as possible.

How long can local or state police legally retain seized money or property before transferring it to the relevant federal agency?

Answer 1

From what I gathered from the Institute for Justice video, when state or local police seize cash or property, federal law enforcement takes over the forfeiture process. The federal agency handles the paperwork and legal proceedings, then kicks back up to 80% of the seized assets to the state agency that initially confiscated them.

This understanding isn't true, as a general rule, although it is the case some of the time.

Most, if not all, U.S. states have a state law process for civil forfeiture, and when this is done, the state or local government seizing the property keeps the money seized, and the federal government gets nothing. See, e.g., Colorado Revised Statutes § 16-13-505 (which is more protective of property owners than most such statutes). Often, when this is done, most of the money seized is allocated to a fund for the law enforcement agency that made the seizure.

Usually, a state or local law law enforcement agency would make a civil forfeiture involving the federal government only in cases where the only statute providing a basis for a civil forfeiture is a federal statute, because state and local governments would prefer to keep all of the forfeited assets. The primary federal civil forfeiture statute is 18 U.S.C. § 981, and it does not specify any particular time frame, although related federal regulations, court rules, or policies and procedures may be more specific.

It is plausible that the 3-4 day delay in the Rebel Ridge case arose because the law enforcement officers had to consult a prosecutor or the relevant city or county attorney or state attorney-general, in order to determine how the process was supposed to work in a joint state and local-federal case.

Answer 2

british-columbia

All civil forfeitures are forfeitures "to the government." This transfer of interest takes place upon the court's order, independent of where the property is at the time.