Legal Question in Criminal Law in Wisconsin

Yes, there are both state and federal forfeiture laws which allow seizures of bank accounts as well as many and any other assets which are in even marginally involved in illegal drug or criminal activity by law enforcement agencies who may be investigating those activities. Such involvement could be as minor as having drugs in a car or approaching a known dealer in a car with intent to buy drugs. By far, the most common assets seized are cars and other motor vehicles, but it is also common for all cash in the possession of anyone arrested for drug activity to be taken, as well as cash or other valuable found during a drug related search warrant. Luckily, these laws provide due process protections which allow innocent owners to fight seizures by requesting a trial on the issue of whether or not the property really was obtained via "ill gotten gains," stemming from criminal activity and requiring the property to be returned if there is insufficient evidence in possession of the law enforcement agency to prove this. Such requests for return of the seized property must be made promptly after the seizure or the right to fight the seizure can be given up, transferring title of the seized property to the government, which means that one should seek the services of an experienced criminal lawyer immediately if one�s property is seized. However, if the owner of seized assets is indeed also being investigated for drug or gang activity, the last thing that he or she usually wants to do is to testify at a civil court proceeding for return of the seized assets, where everything they say will be taken down and later be used against them in any criminal case. And, if they don't testify and "take the fifth," by exercising their 5th amendment right not incriminate themselves, their silence can unfortunately still be used against them in the civil forfeiture proceeding, meaning that they would often end up losing their court battle for return of the property. My comments in this public web forum are intended only for public educational purposes and are not legal advice specifically for you. Instead, you should retain a lawyer in order to meet your legal needs since I will be taking no action on your case. You are welcome to contact my Racine, WI office at 262-633-3090 or email me at [email protected] for further information if you desire it.