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How the State Can Seize Innocent Oklahomans’ Property through Civil Asset Forfeiture

How the State Can Seize Innocent Oklahomans’ Property through Civil Asset Forfeiture

Oklahoma’s civil asset forfeiture laws allows police to confiscate your personal property if they believe it is connected to a crime. The laws allow the state to collect millions of dollars in personal property that may have no relationship to a crime at all. Under civil asset forfeiture laws, citizens “forfeit” property that law enforcement believes had a connection to a crime. Police could seize cash found during a traffic stop, for example, if they suspected it was proceeds from the sale of drugs. The property seized can include anything from cash to vehicles to real estate. Most forfeitures involve cash...

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Knowing Possession of Drug Proceeds: Illegal in Oklahoma

Knowing Possession of Drug Proceeds: Illegal in Oklahoma

In Oklahoma, possessing or receiving money that you know came from drug sales is a crime. Police can seize any property that you purchased using drug money through a process called forfeiture. Oklahoma law states that it is illegal to receive or acquire “drug proceeds”. Law enforcement can charge you with a felony for this crime. To prove that someone illegally received or acquired drug proceeds, the prosecution must show that the defendant knowingly or intentionally received or acquired drug proceeds, knew that the proceeds were gained from illegal activity, and knowingly or intentionally concealed the proceeds or engaged in transactions...

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DUI Vehicle Forfeiture: Is It Legal?

DUI Vehicle Forfeiture - Is It Legal?

Oklahoma law permits DUI vehicle forfeiture, meaning the state could take your vehicle away because you violated DUI laws. Many citizens are shocked to learn that the courts allow civil asset forfeiture on a regular basis against criminal defendants. Not just any DUI driver can have his car seized. The law is very specific about which offenses could lead to forfeiture. First, you must have at least two DUI offenses on your record. If you have two offenses, the first one must be within 10 years of the second one, and at least one of the two offenses must have involved...

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