Has anyone done one of these?

I've not heard of anyone doing so, but surely you are among the most qualified prosecutors to do so . . . how many hours in your logbook?

The Lizard Man is innocent!

A previous local sheriff obtained an airplane on a civil writ long ago, I'm going to say 15 years or so. My caveat to you would be to make sure you know how you are going to get rid of it later. Ours sat at an airport for several years (!!!!!!) while various interests battled it out in court. Not exactly good for the plane. Make sure you have a clear understanding about who pays storage fees, who maintains it, what to do to secure it, and how you are going to get rid of it. Oh, and make sure it doesn't land at an airfield it can't easily take off from. Surprisingly (at least to someone with no aviation background) there are places they can land but from which they have difficulty taking off. But that's another story.

JohnR: 4500, but that was on the driving end not on the seizing end.

One stop shopping in Cherokee County. Seizure & delivery!

Logbooks,Logbooks,Logbooks!!!! Without them the plane has virtually no value. I also concur 100% with the post above about maintenance and storage. Many aircraft are owned via corp. entities (even though owned by private pilots)and are easily identified with the help of the FAA. Also remember that there are TWO sets of logbooks, one for the airframe and one for the engine. Astute buyers (non attorneys as well) are aware of this and are also aware of the "hangar queen" syndrome. The absolute worst thing to do to any aircraft is to not fly it. Many fbo`s will be willing to hangar the plane and to have it flown periodically as well as maintain it AND maintain the log books. It is not terribly expensive to put into place a program to assure that the value of the plane will not be adversely impacted during storage. The engine can even be "pickled" for storage. Another issue can be , believe me, mice and bird damage while stored either inside or outside.Hope this helps.

Jeez ACE, you bring a tear of nostalgia to my eye. All that talk about logbooks, "hangar queens", problems arising from not flying an airplane, etc.

Hey,,,,I`m a sensitive guy! I you want to talk flying give me a call,,,I crashed last year and lived to tell about it. 972 467 5406 CELL

You might want to consider the provisions of Art. 59.02(e): "On motion by any party or on the motion of the court, after notice in the manner provided by Article 59.04 of this code to all known owners and interest holders of property subject to forfeiture under this chapter, and after a hearing on the matter, the court may make appropriate orders to preserve and maintain the value of the property until a final disposition of the property is made under this chapter, including the sale of the property if that is the only method by which the value of the property may be preserved until final disposition." On the one hand, you might want to get a pre-forfeiture order of sale to preserve its value. (Sell it now and then forfeit the proceeds.) If you want to keep the plane, ask the court for specific authority to retain a f.b.o. to preserve, maintain and service the aircraft.