Tennessee
Tennessee 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.
Limited protections for the innocent: Generally, the government must prove third-party owners knew about criminal activity connected to their property, but owners must prove their own innocence in cases involving vehicles.
Large profit incentive: Up to 100% of forfeiture proceeds go to law enforcement.
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
- (2018) HB 2021: Strengthened procedural safeguards for owners by ensuring that property owners get notice of post seizure probable cause hearings (called forfeiture warrant hearings) and establishing a rebuttable presumption that claimed currency is not subject to forfeiture; created a right to attorney fees for owners whose property is ordered returned.
- (2018) SB 1877/HB 1243: Strengthened transparency requirements.
- (2016) HB 2176: Adopted new transparency requirements.
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 2009 and 2018, Tennessee law enforcement agencies forfeited more than $146 million in cash under state law. Between 2000 and 2019, they generated an additional $111 million from federal equitable sharing, for a total of at least $257 million in forfeiture revenue. Tennessee ranks 24th 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 $257 million in state and federal forfeiture revenue
2000–2019
| Year | Tennessee Forfeiture Revenues | Dept. of Justice Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Treasury Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Total |
$0 ↦
$24,555,211
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Unknown | $4,339,691 | $476,000 | $4,815,691 | |
| 2001 | Unknown | $5,081,198 | $2,220,000 | $7,301,198 | |
| 2002 | Unknown | $4,838,211 | $1,309,000 | $6,147,211 | |
| 2003 | Unknown | $3,470,935 | $107,000 | $3,577,935 | |
| 2004 | Unknown | $3,416,186 | $154,000 | $3,570,186 | |
| 2005 | Unknown | $5,642,415 | $479,000 | $6,121,415 | |
| 2006 | Unknown | $4,153,200 | $2,197,000 | $6,350,200 | |
| 2007 | Unknown | $6,938,343 | $55,000 | $6,993,343 | |
| 2008 | Unknown | $6,221,133 | $1,303,000 | $7,524,133 | |
| 2009 | $13,503,206 | $5,205,447 | $1,885,000 | $20,593,653 | |
| 2010 | $18,306,327 | $5,808,884 | $440,000 | $24,555,211 | |
| 2011 | $11,013,176 | $4,902,412 | $214,000 | $16,129,588 | |
| 2012 | $13,192,881 | $6,397,198 | $180,000 | $19,770,079 | |
| 2013 | $12,693,569 | $4,870,108 | $48,000 | $17,611,677 | |
| 2014 | $12,465,062 | $5,087,224 | $532,000 | $18,084,286 | |
| 2015 | $15,107,499 | $5,023,423 | $606,000 | $20,736,922 | |
| 2016 | $17,559,291 | $3,845,404 | $396,000 | $21,800,695 | |
| 2017 | $17,891,083 | $2,679,554 | $484,000 | $21,054,637 | |
| 2018 | $15,130,682 | $3,818,646 | $1,002,000 | $19,951,328 | |
| 2019 | Unavailable | $5,067,077 | $121,000 | $5,188,077 | |
| Totals | $146,862,776 | $96,806,689 | $14,208,000 | $257,877,465 |
State
Department of Justice
Treasury
|
Forfeitures Under Tennessee Law: Key Facts
Median Value
$675From 2015 to 2018, half of Tennessee’s currency forfeitures were worth less than $675.
Property Types
UnknownTennessee property type data were not used for this report.
Civil vs. Criminal
UNKNOWNTennessee does not report whether forfeitures are processed under civil or criminal forfeiture laws.
Expenditures
In 2018, the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security spent $148,784 from forfeiture funds—nearly all on equipment and capital expenditures.
Data Notes
Property-level forfeiture data were obtained from the Tennessee DSHS’s forfeiture database via public records request. Proceeds represent only cash forfeited because although DSHS tracks non-cash forfeitures, it does not track proceeds from those forfeitures. Expenditures are from DSHS’s website and represent only DSHS expenditures. All figures are in calendar years. 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.
Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 40-33-107(4), -210(a); State v. Sprunger, 458 S.W.3d 482, 500 (Tenn. 2015).
Innocent owner burden: Depends on the property. Generally, the government bears the burden of proof. But for vehicles, the owner must prove that she had no knowledge of the criminal use before a claim will be allowed.
Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 40-33-108(a), -210(a)(2), (c)–(f).
Financial incentive: Up to 100%.
Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 40-33-110, -211(a)–(b).