Louisiana
Louisiana earns a D+ for its civil forfeiture laws.
Low bar to forfeit: Prosecutors must prove by preponderance of the evidence that property is connected to a crime.
Poor protections for the innocent: Third-party owners must prove their own innocence to recover seized property.
Large profit incentive: 80% of forfeiture proceeds go to law enforcement (60% to the seizing agencies and 20% to the prosecuting district attorneys’ offices; the remaining 20% goes to the criminal court fund).
The letter grade reflects the state's forfeiture laws as of December 2020. When we become aware of relevant reforms, we are updating the standard of proof, innocent owner burden and financial incentive language above, but we are not updating the letter grade.
Recent Reforms
- None.
Recommendations
- End civil forfeiture
- Direct all forfeiture proceeds to a non-law enforcement fund
- Strengthen protections for innocent third-party owners
- Close the equitable sharing loophole
- Strengthen transparency and accountability requirements
State and Federal Forfeiture Revenues, 2000-2019
Between 2000 and 2018, Louisiana law enforcement agencies forfeited more than $137 million under state law. Between 2000 and 2019, they generated an additional $66 million from federal equitable sharing, for a total of at least $203 million in forfeiture revenue. Louisiana ranks 21st for its participation in the Department of Justice’s equitable sharing program. The state does not prevent state and local agencies from using equitable sharing to circumvent state forfeiture law.
At least $203 million in state and federal forfeiture revenue
2000–2019
| Year | Louisiana Forfeiture Revenues | Dept. of Justice Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Treasury Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Total |
$0 ↦
$14,898,225
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | $4,483,550 | $1,993,010 | $428,000 | $6,904,560 | |
| 2001 | $3,110,304 | $1,415,443 | $172,000 | $4,697,747 | |
| 2002 | $4,800,449 | $930,075 | $4,513,000 | $10,243,524 | |
| 2003 | $4,635,865 | $2,158,907 | $81,000 | $6,875,772 | |
| 2004 | $7,928,592 | $1,501,057 | $0 | $9,429,649 | |
| 2005 | $4,992,415 | $1,670,434 | $188,000 | $6,850,849 | |
| 2006 | $8,242,709 | $2,149,234 | $1,398,000 | $11,789,943 | |
| 2007 | $7,439,139 | $2,796,426 | $160,000 | $10,395,565 | |
| 2008 | $6,665,129 | $2,772,516 | $560,000 | $9,997,645 | |
| 2009 | $8,925,206 | $4,039,358 | $657,000 | $13,621,564 | |
| 2010 | $6,387,868 | $2,510,668 | $545,000 | $9,443,536 | |
| 2011 | $7,902,238 | $6,664,987 | $331,000 | $14,898,225 | |
| 2012 | $8,396,655 | $4,935,726 | $188,000 | $13,520,381 | |
| 2013 | $8,356,682 | $1,919,675 | $522,000 | $10,798,357 | |
| 2014 | $7,079,489 | $1,546,928 | $522,000 | $9,148,417 | |
| 2015 | $6,488,597 | $4,138,006 | $115,000 | $10,741,603 | |
| 2016 | $12,616,134 | $1,409,787 | $81,000 | $14,106,921 | |
| 2017 | $9,782,037 | $4,413,440 | $34,000 | $14,229,477 | |
| 2018 | $9,442,254 | $2,639,147 | $8,000 | $12,089,401 | |
| 2019 | Unavailable | $3,484,313 | $169,000 | $3,653,313 | |
| Totals | $137,675,312 | $55,089,137 | $10,672,000 | $203,436,449 |
State
Department of Justice
Treasury
|
Forfeitures Under Louisiana Law: Key Facts
Median Value
UnknownLouisiana does not report property-level data necessary to calculate median forfeiture value.
Property Types
UnknownLouisiana does not report the types of property forfeited.
Civil vs. Criminal
UNKNOWNLouisiana does not report whether forfeitures are processed under civil or criminal forfeiture law.
Expenditures
UNKNOWNLouisiana does not report how forfeiture funds are spent.
Data Notes
Forfeiture proceeds reports were obtained via public records requests to the Louisiana Attorney General and Governor. The calendar-year figures represent cash and property sold. Equitable sharing data are from DOJ’s and Treasury’s annual forfeiture reports. Due to differences in reporting and accounting practices, state figures may not match aggregate numbers produced by the state or cover the same 12-month period as the federal data.
Legal Sources
Standard of proof: Preponderance of the evidence.
La. Stat. Ann. § 40:2612(G).
Innocent owner burden: Owner.
La. Stat. Ann. § 40:2605.
Financial incentive: 80% (60% to the law enforcement agencies that seized the property, 20% to the district attorney’s office(s) that handled the forfeiture action). The remaining 20% goes to the criminal court fund.
La. Stat. Ann. § 40:2616(B)(3).