I'm back with another strange Parks and Wildlife question, this time concerning forfeiture of property.

The P&W Code deems property used to commit certain violations as "contraband," and authorizes an officer to seize the property without a warrant and request a disposition hearing in a local court. Secs. 12.102 and 12.1106. This has nothing to do with CCP Ch. 59; only the term is the same.

In this case, the property (a valuable new boat and motor) was "contraband" because the defendant had prior convictions. The game warden did not know about the prior convictions at the time he witnessed the latest offense, about a month ago. He has now become aware of the priors. Obviously, the defendant/boat owner has left the scene of the latest crime and taken the boat with him.

My question is: The bare language of the statute authorizes the seizure of contraband without a warrant, and places no time limits on when the property may be seized. So is it constitutionally reasonable to seize the property now without a warrant and hold it pending outcome of the judicial proceedings, when the latest offense occurred over a month ago and the property has been moved to another location? Any cases that might be helpful?

You might be safer with a search warrant authorizing seizure. The statute authorizes seizure without a warrant, but the boat and motor might be located in a locked garage or boat storage facility. Entry without a warrant might be problematic.

I completely agree, Ken. However, I am not sure there are grounds for issuance of a warrant under CCP 18.02.

No 2 (property commonly used in the commission of an offense), No. 9 (implement or instrument used in the commission of a crime) and No. 10 (evidence of crime) might apply, but it seems like a stretch, esp. since the boat and motor are not really needed as evidence for the pending illegal fishing case.

Do you know of any other search warrant statutes that might be applicable?

No. But it might be possible to file your forfeiture case and get an ex parte order authorizing immediate seizure, with the order authorizing entry to a certain location for purposes of the seizure. You would need to discover the location of the contraband in advance. Your application for the seizure order would be under oath and similar to a probable cause afidavit for a search warrant. This would appear to conform to constitutional requirements.

Thank you. That's better than anything I was able to come up with, so I advised the officer accordingly.