Chapter 617: Forfeitures of Personal Property

Whenever personal property is forfeited for violation of law, any officer or person by law authorized to seize the same may take and retain it until he shall deliver it to a proper officer having a warrant to detain it.

I. Subsequent to a criminal conviction pursuant to a statute that authorizes forfeiture, including but not limited to RSA 318-B:17-b, the court may order the person convicted to forfeit:

(a) Property the person derived from the commission of the crime;

(b) Property directly traceable to property derived from the commission of the crime; and

(c) Instrumentalities the person used in the commission of the crime.

II. When a conviction or agreement of the parties is not possible due to the person's death, incompetence, unavailability, or not being within the jurisdiction of the court, or the person to be charged cannot be identified, forfeiture proceedings may be commenced.

III. Property may be forfeited if the state establishes that the property is forfeitable by clear and convincing evidence.

IV. Nothing in this section shall prevent property from being forfeited by plea agreement approved by the presiding criminal court or other agreement of the parties.

V. At the request of any party, the civil portion of the forfeiture proceeding may be stayed by the court.

The person making or directing a seizure pursuant to RSA 617:1 shall, without unnecessary delay, file a libel before a district court or a municipal court in towns and cities in which there is such court if the property does not exceed in value $500, and in other cases in the office of the clerk of the superior court, stating the cause and praying for a decree of forfeiture.

Upon the filing, before or after seizure, of a libel for a forfeiture, a warrant shall be issued to the proper officer, requiring him to take such property into his custody and to detain it until it is legally disposed of.

Notice of the libel shall be given to the owner, if known; otherwise, a notice shall be published to all persons interested, to appear at the time and place appointed for trial, and to show cause why a decree of forfeiture should not be passed.

In addition to any other remedy provided by law, any person claiming to be an innocent owner of property seized for purposes of forfeiture may petition the court, after 10 days from the date of seizure, for return of the property. No item or property interest shall be subject to forfeiture unless the alleged innocent owner thereof was a consenting party to the crime. This section shall not apply to property seized as evidence in a pending criminal investigation or prosecution.

If a person interested shall appear and claim the property, it may be sold by consent of the parties or upon examination and certificate of its perishable nature or of its being expensive to keep, as in case of sale of like property attached, unless it is provided by law that it shall be destroyed, or unless the court shall otherwise order.

If the claimant requests it, the property may be appraised and delivered to him in the same manner as property attached, upon his giving bond to pay to the persons entitled thereto the appraised value thereof, and costs, in case a decree of forfeiture is made.

The case may be tried by a jury, if in the superior court, upon the request of either party, otherwise by the court; and, the cause of forfeiture alleged being proved, the court or justice shall make a decree for the forfeiture and disposition of the property and a distribution of its proceeds according to law.

Costs may be awarded to the libelant if a reasonable cause for seizure appears, in which shall be included the necessary expenses of the seizure, detention and sale of the property; otherwise, reasonable costs and damages shall be awarded to the claimant.

An appeal may be claimed by either party from a decree made by a justice of a district court or municipal court in the same manner as in other civil actions, and like proceedings may be had therein as in the case of libels originally filed in the superior court.

The court, unless otherwise specially provided, may order that any property which has been forfeited shall be destroyed, whenever the public good requires it, and it may direct how and by whom it shall be done.

I. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, at any time when unclaimed property or contraband held for evidentiary purposes is no longer needed for that purpose, the court may order the state to deliver any unclaimed property, other than currency, to the commissioner of the department of administrative services, to deliver any currency to the state treasurer, and to destroy any contraband within 30 days.

II. If the forfeiture is granted, the court may order the state to deliver any currency to the state treasurer and any other property to the commissioner of the department of administrative services within 30 days. The commissioner of the department of administrative services shall dispose of the forfeited property at public auction.

III. Upon motion, the court may order that a portion of the currency seized or proceeds from public auction be used to pay reasonable nonpersonnel expenses of the seizure, storage, and maintenance of custody of any forfeited items.

IV. The auction proceeds and forfeited currency shall be forwarded to the state treasurer and shall be used first to pay all outstanding recorded liens on the forfeited property, then to comply with an order of the court to pay reasonable nonpersonnel expenses, with all remaining funds to be deposited into the drug forfeiture fund.

I. The attorney general, no later than 120 days after the close of the fiscal year, shall post a report on the department of justice website detailing state forfeiture activity, for the preceding fiscal year, including the type, approximate value, and disposition of each property seized, and the amount of any proceeds received or expended at the state and local levels. The report shall provide a categorized accounting of all proceeds expended. Data on seizures, forfeitures, and expenditures of forfeiture proceeds shall be provided by the law enforcement agency in disaggregated form to the attorney general.

II. The attorney general may include proposed legislative recommendations to improve policies to ensure that seizures and forfeitures are undertaken and reported in a manner that is fair to crime victims, innocent property owners, secured interest holders, citizens, and law enforcement officers.