Does a person have to be convicted of a crime to have his/her property seized in a forfeiture case?
A. No, under federal law a civil forfeiture action is commenced against the property, not the person. In addition, the Government has to prove only by a preponderance of the evidence that the property was connected to criminal activity, not beyond a reasonable doubt which is the standard in criminal cases. Thus, property may be forfeited even in the absence of a conviction; although in most forfeiture cases, a criminal prosecution is also pursued at either the state or federal level.
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