Louisiana

Policing for Profit

Louisiana earns a D+ for its civil forfeiture laws

Low bar to forfeit and no conviction required

Poor protections for innocent third-party property owners

80% of forfeiture proceeds go to law enforcement

State Forfeiture Laws

Earning a D+, Louisiana civil forfeiture law fails to protect property owners. The law requires only that the government show by a preponderance of the evidence that property is associated with criminal activity in order to forfeit it. Further, to make an innocent owner claim successfully, individuals must find a way to prove that they did not know about or consent to the criminal activity in which their property was implicated. Law enforcement retains 80 percent of forfeiture revenue—a large incentive to seize. The remaining 20 percent goes to the criminal court fund. This system creates a serious conflict of interest in allowing the court that orders the forfeiture of property to receive a portion of the proceeds.

Louisiana’s forfeiture reporting requirements also leave much to be desired. Every district attorney must file an annual report with the Legislature detailing the amount and value of property seized and distributed after forfeiture, though reports lack key details, such as whether any criminal charges accompanied the forfeiture or how forfeiture funds were spent. These reports also are not compiled into an aggregate report or made available online, forcing interested parties to file a Louisiana Public Records Law request to access the information. Reports indicate that Louisiana district attorneys forfeited more than $99 million between 2000 and 2014, over 88 percent of which resulted from cash forfeitures.

State Law Sources

Standard of proofPreponderance of the evidence.
La. Stat. Ann. § 40:2612(G).
Innocent owner burdenOwner.
La. Stat. Ann. § 40:2605.
Profit incentive80 percent, while the remaining 20 percent goes to the criminal court fund.
La. Stat. Ann. § 40:2616(B)(3).
Reporting requirementsDistrict attorneys are required to file annual seizure reports with the state Legislature.
La. Stat. Ann. § 40:2616(D).

Louisiana ranks 24th for federal forfeiture, with over $36 million in Department of Justice equitable sharing proceeds from 2000 to 2013.

State Forfeiture Data

YearCurrencyPropertyTotal
2000$4,165,829$317,718$4,483,547
2001$2,672,317$437,988$3,110,305
2002$3,137,589$1,662,860$4,800,448
2003$4,009,327$626,537$4,635,863
2004$6,968,061$960,531$7,928,592
2005$4,530,248$462,166$4,992,414
2006$7,363,078$879,630$8,242,709
2007$6,691,976$747,161$7,439,137
2008$5,870,955$794,173$6,665,129
2009$7,895,871$1,029,334$8,925,206
2010$5,539,756$848,109$6,387,866
2011$7,261,609$640,626$7,902,235
2012$7,801,039$595,617$8,396,656
2013$7,352,431$1,004,253$8,356,684
2014$6,496,495$552,493$7,048,988
Total$87,756,581$11,559,196$99,315,778
Average per year$5,850,439$770,613$6,621,052
Source: Judicial district reports obtained by the Institute for Justice through a Louisiana Public Records Law request to the state Office of the Attorney General. Data are presented in calendar years and only represent cash and property sold, not property retained for official use.

Federal Equitable Sharing

Louisiana law enforcement’s regular participation in the Department of Justice’s equitable sharing program puts the state in 24th place on equitable sharing nationwide. Between 2000 and 2013, Louisiana law enforcement brought in $2.6 million per calendar year, or more than $36 million total, in DOJ equitable sharing proceeds. Almost all—95 percent—of these proceeds came from joint task forces and investigations, equitable sharing practices left largely intact under a DOJ policy change intended to rein in the program. Finally, Louisiana law enforcement also received $11 million in Treasury Department equitable sharing proceeds between 2000 and 2013—an average of just under $800,000 per fiscal year.

YearDOJ
(calendar years)
Treasury
(fiscal years)
2000$1,976,260$1,746,000
2001$1,028,422$172,000
2002$1,007,816$4,513,000
2003$2,023,684$81,000
2004$1,665,119$0
2005$2,470,030$188,000
2006$1,532,528$1,398,000
2007$3,191,793$160,000
2008$3,244,194$560,000
2009$2,594,124$657,000
2010$2,696,934$545,000
2011$7,878,356$331,000
2012$3,124,013$188,000
2013$2,028,621$522,000
Total$36,461,892$11,061,000
Average Per Year$2,604,421$790,071