Wyoming
| Grades |
State Law Evasion Grade | Final Grade |
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Wyoming
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Forfeiture Law |
| Wyoming has horrible civil forfeiture laws, with an F law grade. The state’s final grade is pulled up to a C only by limited use of equitable sharing (an evasion grade of A) to date. The government can seize and subsequently forfeit property with just probable cause that it is subject to forfeiture. This is the lowest standard, far easier for the government than proving criminal guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. A property owner who wishes to claim an innocent owner defense bears the burden of proof, effectively making owners guilty until proven innocent. All of the proceeds from civil forfeiture are distributed to the state Attorney General’s asset fund. In turn, those funds are used as matching funds for federal drug enforcement grants. Finally, although officials are required to collect information on the use of forfeiture, they did not respond to requests.
1 Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation. (2002, February 28). Drug asset seizure and forfeiture. Retrieved September 25, 2009, from http://attorneygeneral.state.wy.us/dci/text_das.html. |
| Forfeitures as Reported to LEMAS (Drug-related only) |
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| Equitable Sharing Proceeds from the Assets Forfeiture Fund (AFF) |
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| Freedom of Information Data |
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No Data Available; Required to Collect, But Did Not Respond to Request
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