Asset Forfeiture Statutes in Connecticut

Below are some of the most common Connecticut asset forfeiture statutes. For a more complete list, you can search “asset forfeiture” at the Connecticut judicial branch website.

Forfeiture of Property Related to Illegal Sale

Sec. 54-36h. Forfeiture of moneys and property related to illegal sale or exchange of controlled substances or money laundering. In rem proceeding. Disposition. (a) The following property shall be subject to forfeiture to the state pursuant to subsection (b) of this section:
(1) All moneys used, or intended for use, in the procurement, manufacture, compounding, processing, delivery or distribution of any controlled substance, as defined in subdivision (9) of section 21a-240;
(2) All property constituting the proceeds obtained, directly or indirectly, from any sale or exchange of any such controlled substance in violation of section 21a-277 or 21a-278;
(3) All property derived from the proceeds obtained, directly or indirectly, from any sale or exchange for pecuniary gain of any such controlled substance in violation of section 21a-277 or 21a-278;
(4) All property used or intended for use, in any manner or part, to commit or facilitate the commission of a violation for pecuniary gain of section 21a-277 or 21a-278;
(5) All property constituting, or derived from, the proceeds obtained, directly or indirectly, by a corporation as a result of a violation of section 53a-276, 53a-277 or 53a-278.
(b) Not later than ninety days after the seizure of moneys or property subject to forfeiture pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, in connection with a lawful criminal arrest or a lawful search, the Chief State’s Attorney or a deputy chief state’s attorney, state’s attorney or assistant or deputy assistant state’s attorney may petition the court in the nature of a proceeding in rem to order forfeiture of said moneys or property. Such proceeding shall be deemed a civil suit in equity, in which the state shall have the burden of proving all material facts by clear and convincing evidence. The court shall identify the owner of said moneys or property and any other person as appears to have an interest therein, and order the state to give notice to such owner and any interested person by certified or registered mail, and shall promptly, but not less than two weeks after notice, hold a hearing on the petition. No testimony offered or evidence produced by such owner or interested person at such hearing and no evidence discovered as a result of or otherwise derived from such testimony or evidence, may be used against such owner or interested person in any proceeding, except that no such owner or interested person shall be immune from prosecution for perjury or contempt committed while giving such testimony or producing such evidence. At such hearing the court shall hear evidence and make findings of fact and enter conclusions of law and shall issue a final order, from which the parties shall have such right of appeal as from a decree in equity.
(c) No property shall be forfeited under this section to the extent of the interest of an owner or lienholder by reason of any act or omission committed by another person if such owner or lienholder did not know and could not have reasonably known that such property was being used or was intended to be used in, or was derived from, criminal activity.
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, no moneys or property used or intended to be used by the owner thereof to pay legitimate attorney’s fees in connection with his defense in a criminal prosecution shall be subject to forfeiture under this section.
(e) Any property ordered forfeited pursuant to subsection (b) of this section shall be sold at public auction conducted by the Commissioner of Administrative Services or his designee.
(f) The proceeds from any sale of property under subsection (e) of this section and any moneys forfeited under this section shall be applied: (1) To payment of the balance due on any lien preserved by the court in the forfeiture proceedings; (2) to payment of any costs incurred for the storage, maintenance, security and forfeiture of such property; and (3) to payment of court costs. The balance, if any, shall be deposited in the drug asset forfeiture revolving account established under section 54-36i.

Drug Asset Forfeiture Revolving Accounts

Sec. 54-36i. Drug assets forfeiture revolving account. Allocation of moneys. (a) There is established and created an account of the General Fund to be known as the “drug assets forfeiture revolving account” for the purpose of providing funds for substance abuse treatment and education programs and for use in the detection, investigation, apprehension and prosecution of persons for the violation of the laws pertaining to the illegal manufacture, sale, distribution or possession of controlled substances.
(b) The account shall consist of the proceeds from the sale of property and moneys received and deposited pursuant to section 54-36h.
(c) Moneys in such account shall be distributed as follows: (1) Seventy per cent shall be allocated to the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection and local police departments pursuant to subsection (d) of this section, fifteen per cent of which shall be used for purposes of drug education and eighty-five per cent of which shall be used for the detection, investigation, apprehension and prosecution of persons for the violation of laws pertaining to the illegal manufacture, sale, distribution or possession of controlled substances and for the purposes of police training on gang-related violence as required by section 7-294l, (2) twenty per cent shall be allocated to the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services for substance abuse treatment and education programs and tobacco prevention and enforcement positions engaged in compliance activities as required by the federal government as a condition of receipt of substance abuse prevention and treatment block grant funds, and (3) ten per cent shall be allocated to the Division of Criminal Justice for use in the prosecution of persons for the violation of laws pertaining to the illegal manufacture, sale, distribution or possession of controlled substances.
(d) Expenditures from the account allocated to the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection and local police departments shall be authorized by a panel composed of: (1) The Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection or his designee, (2) the commander of the state-wide narcotics task force or his designee, and (3) the president of the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association or his designee. The panel shall adopt procedures for the orderly authorization of expenditures, subject to the approval of the Comptroller. Such expenditures may be authorized only to the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection and to organized local police departments within this state. Such expenditures shall be held by the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection and the various organized local police departments in accounts or funds established for that purpose. In no event shall the expenditures be placed in a state or town general fund and in no event shall the expenditures be used for purposes other than those provided in subdivision (1) of subsection (c) of this section. The panel shall ensure the equitable allocation of expenditures to the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection or any local police department which participated directly in any of the acts which led to the seizure or forfeiture of the property so as to reflect generally the contribution of said department or such local police department in such acts. The panel shall authorize expenditures from the account for the reimbursement of any organized local police department which has used its own funds in the detection, investigation, apprehension and prosecution of persons for the violation of laws pertaining to the illegal manufacture, sale, distribution or possession of controlled substances and which makes application to the panel for reimbursement.
(e) Moneys remaining in the drug assets forfeiture revolving account at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund but shall remain in the revolving account to be used for the purposes set forth in this section.

Summons to Owner

Sec. 54-33g. Summons to owner on seizure of property. In rem action for adjudication as nuisance. Disposition of property.
(a) When any property believed to be possessed, controlled, designed or intended for use or which is or has been used or which may be used as a means of committing any criminal offense, except a violation of section 21a-267, 21a-277, 21a-278 or 21a-279, has been seized as a result of a lawful arrest or lawful search, which the state claims to be a nuisance and desires to have destroyed or disposed of in accordance with the provisions of this section, the judge or court issuing the warrant or before whom the arrested person is to be arraigned shall, within ten days after such seizure, cause to be left with the owner of, and with any person claiming of record a bona fide mortgage, assignment of lease or rent, lien or security interest in, the property so seized, or at his usual place of abode, if he is known, or, if unknown, at the place where the property was seized, a summons notifying the owner and any such other person claiming such interest and all others whom it may concern to appear before such judge or court, at a place and time named in such notice, which shall be not less than six nor more than twelve days after the service thereof.
(b) If the owner of such property or any person claiming any interest in the same appears, he shall be made a party defendant in such case. Any state’s attorney or assistant state’s attorney may appear and prosecute such complaint and shall have the burden of proving all material facts by clear and convincing evidence.
(c) If the judge or court finds the allegations made in such complaint to be true and that the property has been possessed, controlled or designed for use, or is or has been or is intended to be used, with intent to violate or in violation of any of the criminal laws of this state, except a violation of section 21a-267, 21a-277, 21a-278 or 21a-279, he shall render judgment that such property is a nuisance and order the same to be destroyed or disposed of to a charitable or educational institution or to a governmental agency or institution provided, if any such property is subject to a bona fide mortgage, assignment of lease or rent, lien or security interest, such property shall not be so destroyed or disposed of in violation of the rights of the holder of such interest. When any money or valuable prize has been seized upon such warrant and condemned under the provisions of this section, such money or valuable prize shall become the property of the state and when the property is money it shall be deposited in the General Fund, provided any such property, which at the time of such order is subject to a bona fide mortgage, assignment of lease or rent, lien or security interest shall remain subject to such mortgage, assignment of lease or rent, lien or security interest. When any property or valuable prize has been declared a nuisance and condemned under this section, the court may also order that such property be sold by sale at public auction in which case the proceeds shall become the property of the state and shall be deposited in the General Fund; provided, any person who has a bona fide mortgage, assignment of lease or rent, lien or security interest shall have the same right to the proceeds as he had in the property prior to sale. Final destruction or disposal of such property shall not be made until any criminal trial in which such property might be used as evidence has been completed.
(d) If the judge or court finds the allegations not to be true or that the property has not been kept with intent to violate or in violation of the criminal laws of this state or that it is the property of a person not a defendant, he shall order the property returned to the owner forthwith and the party in possession of such property pending such determination shall be responsible and personally liable for such property from the time of seizure and shall immediately comply with such order.
(e) Failure of the state to proceed against such property in accordance with the provisions of this section shall not prevent the use of such property as evidence in any criminal trial.