What is forfeiture and how does it apply to drug cases?
Forfeiture is the legal seizure of property by the government. Although there are two types of forfeitures, civil and criminal, the majority of forfeitures today are civil. In a civil forfeiture, the government must have a “preponderance of evidence” that the property was or could be used to commit a crime. Assets seized in civil forfeitures related to drug crimes are generally items used for the cultivation or distribution of controlled substances.
