Montana
Montana earns a D- for its civil forfeiture laws.
Higher bar to forfeit: Strong conviction provision requires conviction of the owner in a criminal proceeding held in conjunction with the forfeiture action. Once there is a conviction, property must be linked to the crime by clear and convincing evidence.
Stronger protections for the innocent: The government must prove third-party owners knew about criminal activity connected to their property.
Large profit incentive: Up to 100% of forfeiture proceeds go to law enforcement (annual proceeds to state agencies above $125,000 are split 50–50 between the general fund and a state forfeiture 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
- Close the equitable sharing loophole
- Adopt strong transparency and accountability requirements
State and Federal Forfeiture Revenues, 2000-2019
Between 2002 and 2019, Montana law enforcement agencies forfeited nearly $2 million under state law. Between 2000 and 2019, they generated an additional $9 million from federal equitable sharing, for a total of at least $11 million in forfeiture revenue. Montana ranks 9th 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 $11 million in state and federal forfeiture revenue
2000–2019
| Year | Montana Forfeiture Revenues | Dept. of Justice Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Treasury Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Total |
$0 ↦
$1,278,658
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Unknown | $251,243 | $274,000 | $525,243 | |
| 2001 | Unknown | $576,378 | $37,000 | $613,378 | |
| 2002 | $43,477 | $205,696 | $27,000 | $276,173 | |
| 2003 | $47,013 | $182,607 | $88,000 | $317,620 | |
| 2004 | $74,481 | $201,458 | $0 | $275,939 | |
| 2005 | $60,931 | $422,760 | $80,000 | $563,691 | |
| 2006 | $128,380 | $487,171 | $0 | $615,551 | |
| 2007 | $134,634 | $1,134,024 | $10,000 | $1,278,658 | |
| 2008 | $105,789 | $387,501 | $73,000 | $566,290 | |
| 2009 | $75,778 | $54,656 | $67,000 | $197,434 | |
| 2010 | $117,997 | $131,734 | $53,000 | $302,731 | |
| 2011 | $125,202 | $324,653 | $28,000 | $477,855 | |
| 2012 | $95,575 | $666,494 | $129,000 | $891,069 | |
| 2013 | $105,932 | $456,794 | $41,000 | $603,726 | |
| 2014 | $75,495 | $304,941 | $73,000 | $453,436 | |
| 2015 | $202,205 | $358,093 | $42,000 | $602,298 | |
| 2016 | $118,735 | $241,944 | $174,000 | $534,679 | |
| 2017 | $236,617 | $472,258 | $43,000 | $751,875 | |
| 2018 | $51,976 | $369,823 | $212,000 | $633,799 | |
| 2019 | $83,376 | $425,280 | $18,000 | $526,656 | |
| Totals | $1,883,593 | $7,655,508 | $1,469,000 | $11,008,101 |
State
Department of Justice
Treasury
|
Forfeitures Under Montana Law: Key Facts
Median Value
UnknownMontana does not report property-level data necessary to calculate median forfeiture value.
Property Types
UnknownMontana does not report the types of property forfeited.
Civil vs. Criminal
UNKNOWNMontana does not report whether forfeitures are processed under civil or criminal forfeiture law.
Expenditures
UNKNOWNMontana does not report how forfeiture funds are spent.
Data Notes
Records were obtained via public records requests to the Montana Department of Justice. Figures represent fiscal-year forfeited cash and proceeds from sales of property deposited into the state special revenue fund. 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: Strong conviction provision requires an owner’s conviction in a criminal proceeding “held in conjunction with” forfeiture. Once there is a conviction, property must be linked to the crime by clear and convincing evidence.
Mont. Code Ann. §§ 44-12-207(c), -210(1).
Innocent owner burden: Government. The government must disprove an innocent owner claim by clear and convincing evidence.
Mont. Code Ann. § 44-12-211; see also id. § 45-9-206(8).
Financial incentive: Up to 100%. However, when forfeiture money goes to the state, annual proceeds above $125,000 must be divided equally between the general fund and a state forfeiture fund.
Mont. Code Ann. § 44-12-213.