TITLE 31
Motor and Other vehicles
CHAPTER 31-48
Motor Vehicle Chop Shop, Stolen and Altered Property
SECTION 31-48-5
§ 31-48-5 Forfeiture.
(a) The following are subject to forfeiture unless obtained by theft, fraud or
conspiracy to defraud and the rightful owner is known or can be identified and
located:
(1) Any tool,
(2) Any implement, or
(3) Any instrumentality, including, but not limited to, any
motor vehicle or motor vehicle part, whether owned or not owned by the person
from whose possession or control it was seized, which is used or possessed
either in violation of § 31-48-3 or to promote or facilitate a violation
of § 31-48-3.
(b) Any motor vehicle, other conveyance, or motor vehicle
part used by any person as a common carrier is subject to forfeiture under this
section where the owner or other person in charge of the motor vehicle, other
conveyance, or motor vehicle part is a consenting party to a violation of
§ 31-48-3.
(c)(1) Any motor vehicle, motor vehicle part, other
conveyance, tool, implement, or instrumentality is not subject to forfeiture
under this section by reason of any act or omission which the owner proves to
have been committed or omitted without the owner's knowledge or consent.
(2) Seizing agencies will utilize their best efforts to
identify any seized motor vehicle or motor vehicle part to determine ownership
or the identity of any person having a right or interest in a seized motor
vehicle or motor vehicle part. In its reasonable identification and owner
location attempts, the seizing agency will cause the stolen motor vehicle files
of the local or state police to be searched for stolen or wanted information on
motor vehicles similar to the seized motor vehicle or consistent with the
seized motor vehicle part.
(d) Where a motor vehicle or motor vehicle part has an
apparent value in excess of one thousand dollars ($1,000):
(1) The seizing agency shall consult with an expert, either
law enforcement investigative personnel specially trained and experienced in
motor vehicle theft investigative procedures and motor vehicle identification
examination techniques, or by expert employees of not-for-profit motor vehicle
theft prevention agencies specially trained and experienced in motor vehicle
theft investigation procedures and motor vehicle identification examination
technique.
(2) The seizing agency shall also request searches of the
on-line and off-line files of the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and
the National Automobile Theft Bureau (NATB) when the local or state police
files have been searched with negative results.
(e) A forfeiture of a motor vehicle, motor vehicle part, or
other conveyance encumbered by a bona fide security interest is subject to the
interest of the secured party where the secured party neither had knowledge of
nor consented to the act or omission forming the ground for the forfeiture.
(f) Property, described in subsection (a) of this section,
seized and held for forfeiture, shall not be subject to replevin and is subject
only to the order and judgments of a court of competent jurisdiction hearing
the forfeiture proceedings.
(g)(1) The attorney general shall bring an action for
forfeiture in a court of competent jurisdiction. The forfeiture action shall be
brought within sixty (60) days from the date of seizure except where the
attorney general, by sound exercise of discretion determines that no forfeiture
action should be brought because of the rights of property owners, lienholders,
or secured creditors, or because of exculpatory, exonerating, or mitigating
facts and circumstances.
(2) The attorney general shall give notice of the forfeiture
proceeding by mailing a copy of the complaint in the forfeiture proceeding to
each person whose right, title, or interest is of record in the division of
motor vehicles, or any other department or agency of the state, or any other
state or territory of the United States, or of the federal government if that
property is required to be registered in any department.
(3) Notice of the proceeding shall be given to any other
person as may appear, from the facts and circumstances, to have any right,
title, or interest in or to the property.
(4) The owner of the property, or any person having, or
claiming, right, title, or interest in the property may within sixty (60) days
after the mailing of the notice file a verified answer to the complaint and may
appear at the hearing on the action for forfeiture.
(5) The attorney general shall show at a forfeiture hearing,
by a preponderance of the evidence, that the property was used in the
commission of a violation of § 31-48-3, or was used or possessed to
facilitate the violation.
(6) The owner of property may show by a preponderance of the
evidence that the owner did not know, and did not have reason to know, that the
property was to be used or possessed in the commission of any violation or that
any of the exceptions to forfeiture are applicable.
(7) Unless the attorney general shall make the showing
required of it, the court shall order the property released to the owner. Where
the attorney general has made that showing, the court may order:
(i) The property be destroyed by the agency which seized it
or some other agency designated by the court,
(ii) The property be delivered and retained for use by the
agency which seized it or some other agency designated by the court, or
(iii) The property be sold at public sale.
(h) A copy of a forfeiture order shall be filed with each
federal or state department with which the property is required to be
registered. The order, when filed, constitutes authority for the issuance to
the agency to whom the property is delivered and retained for use or to any
purchaser of the property of a title certificate, registration certificate, or
other special certificate as may be required by law considering the condition
of the property.
(i) Proceeds from sale at public auction, after payment of
all reasonable charges and expenses incurred by the agency designated by the
court to conduct the sale in storing and selling the property, shall be paid to
the general fund of the state of Rhode Island.
(j) No motor vehicle, either seized under § 31-48-4 or
forfeited under this section, shall be released by the seizing agency or used
or sold by an agency designated by the court unless any altered, counterfeited,
defaced, destroyed, disguised, falsified, forged, obliterated, or removed
vehicle identification number is corrected by the issuance and affixing of
either an assigned or replacement vehicle identification number plate as may be
appropriate under laws or regulations of this state.
(k) No motor vehicle part having any altered, counterfeited,
defaced, destroyed, disguised, falsified, forged, obliterated, or removed
vehicle identification number may be disposed of upon forfeiture except by its
destruction. This provision shall not apply to any motor vehicle part which is
assembled with and constitutes part of a motor vehicle.
(l) No motor vehicle or motor vehicle part shall be forfeited
under this section solely on the basis that it is unidentifiable. Instead of
forfeiture, any seized motor vehicle or motor vehicle part which is
unidentifiable shall be the subject of a written report sent by the seizing
agency to the division of motor vehicles, which report shall include a
description of the motor vehicle or motor vehicle part, its color, if any, the
date, time, and place of its seizure, the name of the person from whose
possession or control it was seized, the grounds for its seizure, and the
location where the same is held or stored.
(m) When a seized unidentifiable motor vehicle or motor
vehicle part has been held for sixty (60) days or more after the notice to the
division of motor vehicles specified in subsection (k) of this section have
been given, the seizing agency or its agent shall cause the motor vehicle or
motor vehicle part to be sold at public sale to the highest bidder. Notice of
the time and place of sale shall be posted in a conspicuous place for at least
thirty (30) days prior to the sale of the premises where the motor vehicle or
motor vehicle part has been stored.
(n) When a seized unidentifiable motor vehicle or motor
vehicle part has an apparent value of one thousand dollars ($1,000) or less,
the seizing agency shall authorize the disposal of the motor vehicle or motor
vehicle part, provided that no disposition shall be made less than sixty (60)
days after the date of seizure.
(o) The proceeds of the public sale of an unidentifiable
motor vehicle or motor vehicle part shall be deposited in the general fund of
the state after deduction of any reasonable and necessary towing and storage
charges.
(p) Seizing agencies will utilize their best efforts to
arrange for the towing and storing of motor vehicles and motor vehicles parts
in the most economical manner possible. In no event shall the owner of a motor
vehicle or a motor vehicle part be required to pay more than the minimum
reasonable costs of towing and storage.
(q) A seized motor vehicle or motor vehicle part that is
neither forfeited nor unidentifiable shall be held subject to the order of the
court in which the criminal action is pending or, if a request for its release
from custody is made until the attorney general has notified the defendant or
the defendant's attorney of the request and both the prosecution and defense
have been afforded a reasonable opportunity for an examination of the property
to determine its true value and to produce or reproduce, by photographs or
other identifying techniques, legally sufficient evidence for introduction at
trial or other criminal proceedings. Upon expiration of a reasonable time for
the completion of the examination which shall not exceed fourteen (14) days
from the date of service upon the defense of the notice of request for return
of property as provided in this chapter, the property shall be released to the
person making the request after satisfactory proof of the person's entitlement
to the possession of it. However, upon application by either party with notice
to the other, the court may order retention of the property if it determines
that retention is necessary in the furtherance of justice.
(r) When a seized vehicle is forfeited, restored to its
owner, or disposed of as unidentifiable, the seizing agency shall retain a
report of the transaction for a period of at least one year from the date of
the transaction.
(s) When an applicant for a certificate of title or salvage
certificate presents to the division of motor vehicles proof that the applicant
purchased or acquired a motor vehicle at a public sale conducted pursuant to
this section and that fact is attested to by the seizing agency, the division
of motor vehicles shall issue a certificate of title, salvage certificate for
the motor vehicle upon receipt of the statutory fee, properly executed
application for a certificate of title, or other certificate of ownership, and
the affidavit of the seizing agency that a state-assigned number was applied
for and affixed to the motor vehicle proper to the time that the motor vehicle
was released by the seizing agency to the purchaser.
History of Section.
(P.L. 1992, ch. 273, § 1.)