Legal Question in Criminal Law in Iowa

i had property seized during a search and seizer in iowa and they took everything of value on april 22 2010 well yesterday augest 6 2010 i recieved a in rem forfeiture complaint to forfeit all my stuff i looked in iowa forfeiture laws and it says the forfeiture proceedings shall commence and property returned if the county attorney fails to do the following and the first thing said fails to file forfeiture process within 90 days from datw of seizure well its been more than that iowa code 809a.8 so does this mean i should get it returned thanks for all the help


Asked on 8/08/10, 5:32 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

A proceeding "commences" when the first papers are filed with the court, not when you receive your copies. You received the papers 106 days after the seizure, but it is very possible that they were filed with the court within 90 days.

Please note I am only discussing your factual argument. I am not an Iowa attorney and I don't know whether Iowa law actually works the way you describe or whether there might be exceptions to the 90-day rule. Hopefully another attorney will be able to address that part of your question.

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Answered on 8/13/10, 6:24 pm
Robert Luedeman solo practitioner

The dates that the process was initiated are not clear from this post. I suggest taking a look at In re Property Seized From Young, located at http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ia-supreme-court/1521025.html

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Answered on 8/16/10, 7:59 am


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