Most Owners Fail to Reach a Hearing

Cristal and Beverly are far from the only owners tripped up by requirements for filing a claim or an answer on time. While few states collect reliable information about how often property owners contest forfeitures, available data indicate most owners do not. As Figure 8 illustrates, across five states with data, the percentages of contested seizures or forfeitures range from just 10% in Oregon to 24% in Michigan. Just 6% of New Jersey owners filed an answer in response to the government’s complaint (though our data cover a limited time period). IJ’s Indiana study found that just 34% percent of cases indicated an owner contested the forfeiture—a figure that, unlike the others, includes settlements. ¹

Figure 8: Claim rates, five states

In states with data, most forfeitures were unchallenged

Note: Arizona’s rate is based on the percentage of cases with claims, while the other four states’ rates are based on the percentage of properties with claims. Rates for Minnesota and Oregon are calculated from all properties seized, including successful claims where owners won property back. Rates for Arizona, Michigan, and New Jersey are calculated only from forfeitures and are thus missing successful claims, likely undercounting the true claim rate. Minnesota’s data are from 2023 only and indicate whether forfeiture was contested. New Jersey’s data are from April 2022 through 2023. All other state data are from 2019–2023.

The few states with data on forfeitures by default back up our finding that most forfeitures are uncontested. As Figure 9 shows, default rates are above 70% in both Kansas and South Dakota and above 60% in IJ’s Indiana sample. Similarly, a 2023 study of 16 California counties over seven years compared claims filed in court to seizures reported to the state and found that “an average of 75% of currency seizures initiated never find their way into a courthouse.” ²  

Figure 9: Default rates, three states

In states with data, most seizures resulted in default forfeiture

Note: Kansas data are from 2019–2023; South Dakota data are from 2020–2023; and Indiana data are from a random sample of cases from 2019–2023.

As noted, the picture is similar at the federal level, where the vast majority of forfeitures happen administratively—that is, without judicial involvement.