What if someone committed a crime in your car. You weren’t in the car, but the crime occurred. Can the government seize your car? Doesn’t seem right, does it? But, they can. Kansas Civil Forfeiture Laws allow the government to seize property and hold it for months or years on end, oftentimes forcing property owners to expend time and money navigating a complex system that requires them to prove their own innocence. For many property owners, the time and legal fees required to regain their property are simply too much and they give up.
A Junction City woman, along with the Kansas Justice System, decided to fight the law. After a motion was filed in court, the government chose to return her car and dismiss the case with prejudice, meaning they could not refile to claim it. The win is very rare, as approximately 90% of seized property in Kansas is never returned to their owners. The Kansas Justice System also fought to protect a man’s classic 1959 Corvette from being taken because of an improper registration. That car was returned to him after a years-long fight.
