Arizona Laws 13-4305. Seizure of property
A. Property subject to forfeiture under this chapter may be seized for forfeiture by a peace officer:
Terms Used In Arizona Laws 13-4305
- Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
- Conduct: means an act or omission and its accompanying culpable mental state. See Arizona Laws 13-105
- Crime: means a misdemeanor or a felony. See Arizona Laws 13-105
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Government: means the state, any political subdivision of the state or any department, agency, board, commission, institution or governmental instrumentality of or within the state or political subdivision. See Arizona Laws 13-105
- including: means not limited to and is not a term of exclusion. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Peace officer: means any person vested by law with a duty to maintain public order and make arrests and includes a constable. See Arizona Laws 13-105
- Person: means a human being and, as the context requires, an enterprise, a public or private corporation, an unincorporated association, a partnership, a firm, a society, a government, a governmental authority or an individual or entity capable of holding a legal or beneficial interest in property. See Arizona Laws 13-105
- Physical injury: means the impairment of physical condition. See Arizona Laws 13-105
- Possession: means a voluntary act if the defendant knowingly exercised dominion or control over property. See Arizona Laws 13-105
- Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
- Process: means a citation, writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Property: means anything of value, tangible or intangible. See Arizona Laws 13-105
- Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
- Seizure for forfeiture: means seizure of property by a peace officer and either:
(a) There is an assertion by the seizing agency or by an attorney for the state that the property is subject to forfeiture. See Arizona Laws 13-4301
- United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Arizona Laws 1-215
1. On process issued pursuant to the Arizona rules of civil procedure or this title, including a seizure warrant.
2. By making a seizure for forfeiture on property seized on process issued pursuant to law, including sections 13-3911, 13-3912, 13-3913, 13-3914 and 13-3915.
3. By making a seizure for forfeiture without court process if the officer has probable cause to believe that the property is subject to forfeiture and any of the following is true:
(a) The seizure for forfeiture is of property seized incident to a lawful arrest for a crime or a lawful search.
(b) The property subject to seizure for forfeiture has been the subject of a prior judgment in favor of this state or any other state or the federal government in a forfeiture proceeding.
(c) The peace officer has probable cause to believe that the property is subject to forfeiture and that the delay occasioned by the need to obtain a court order would result in the removal or destruction of the property or otherwise frustrate the seizure.
B. The court shall determine probable cause for seizure before real property may be seized for forfeiture. The court may make its determination ex parte if the state demonstrates that notice and an opportunity to appear would create a risk of harm to the public safety or welfare, including the risk of physical injury or the likelihood of property damage or financial loss.
C. The court shall determine probable cause for seizure before property may be seized for forfeiture as a substitute asset pursuant to section 13-2314, subsection D or E, or pursuant to section 13-4313, subsection A. The court may issue a seizure warrant for such property if it determines that there is probable cause to believe that the property is subject to forfeiture and is not available for seizure for forfeiture for any reason described in section 13-4313, subsection A. The determinations shall be made ex parte unless real property is to be seized and subsection B of this section requires notice and an opportunity to appear.
D. In establishing probable cause for seizure, a rebuttable presumption exists that the property of any person is subject to forfeiture if the state establishes all of the following by clear and convincing evidence:
1. Conduct giving rise to forfeiture occurred.
2. The person acquired the property during the period of the conduct giving rise to forfeiture or within a reasonable time after that period.
3. There is no likely source for the property other than the conduct giving rise to forfeiture.
E. The presence or possession of United States currency, debit cards or credit cards, without other indicia of a crime that subjects property to forfeiture, is insufficient probable cause for seizure of United States currency, debit cards or credit cards.