24-1-6 - Innocent owners.
24-1-6. Innocent owners.
(1) An innocent owner's or interest holder's interest in property may not be forfeitedunder any provision of state law.
(2) The prosecuting attorney has the burden of establishing by clear and convincingevidence that an owner or interest holder:
(a) is criminally responsible for the conduct giving rise to the forfeiture, subject toSubsection (4);
(b) knew of the conduct giving rise to the forfeiture, and allowed the property to be usedin furtherance of the conduct;
(c) acquired the property with notice of its actual or constructive seizure for forfeitureunder this chapter;
(d) acquired the property knowing the property was subject to forfeiture under thischapter; or
(e) acquired the property in an effort to conceal, prevent, hinder, or delay its lawfulseizure or forfeiture under any provision of state law.
(3) For purposes of this chapter, an owner or interest holder may not be required to takesteps that he reasonably believes would be likely to result in physical harm or danger to anyperson. An owner or interest holder may demonstrate that he took reasonable action to prohibitthe illegal use of the property by, for example:
(a) timely notifying a law enforcement agency of information that led the owner to knowthat conduct subjecting the property to seizure would occur, was occurring, or has occurred;
(b) timely revoking or attempting to revoke permission for those engaging in the illegalconduct to use the property; or
(c) taking reasonable actions to discourage or prevent the illegal use of the property.
(4) If the state relies on Subsection (2)(a) to establish that a person is not an innocentowner or interest holder, and if the owner or the interest holder is criminally charged with theconduct giving rise to the forfeiture and is acquitted of that charge on the merits:
(a) the property subject to the forfeiture or the value of the property, if the property hasbeen disposed of under Subsection 24-1-7(15), shall be returned to the owner or interest holder;and
(b) any payments required under this chapter regarding holding the property shall be paidto the owner or interest holder.
(5) No owner may assert, under this section, an ownership interest in contraband.
(6) Property is presumed to be subject to forfeiture under this chapter if the prosecutingattorney establishes, by clear and convincing evidence, that:
(a) the owner or interest holder has engaged in conduct giving cause for forfeiture;
(b) the property was acquired by the owner or interest holder during that period of theconduct giving cause for forfeiture or within a reasonable time after that period; and
(c) there was no likely source for the purchase or acquisition of the property other thanthe conduct giving cause for forfeiture.
(7) A finding that property is the proceeds of conduct giving cause for forfeiture does notrequire proof that the property was the proceeds of any particular exchange or transaction.
Amended by Chapter 296, 2004 General Session