S.C. Code Ann. § 44-53-520 – Forfeitures

(a) The following are subject to forfeiture:
1. (1) all controlled substances which have been manufactured, distributed, dispensed, or acquired in violation of this article;
2. (2) all raw materials, products, and equipment of any kind which are used, or which have been positioned for use, in manufacturing, producing, compounding, processing, delivering, importing, or exporting any controlled substance in violation of this article;
3. (3) all property which is used, or which has been positioned for use, as a container for property described in items (1) or (2);
4. (4) All property, both real and personal, which in any manner is knowingly used to facilitate production, manufacturing, distribution, sale, importation, exportation, or trafficking in various controlled substances as defined in this article;
5. (5) all books, records, and research products and materials, including formulas, microfilm, tapes, and data which are used, or which have been positioned for use, in violation of this article;
6. (6) all conveyances including, but not limited to, trailers, aircraft, motor vehicles, and watergoing vessels which are used or intended for use unlawfully to conceal, contain, or transport or facilitate the unlawful concealment, possession, containment, manufacture, or transportation of controlled substances and their compounds, except as otherwise provided, must be forfeited to the State. No motor vehicle may be forfeited to the State under this item unless it is used, intended for use, or in any manner facilitates a violation of Section 44-53-370(a), involving at least one pound or more of marijuana, one pound or more of hashish, more than four grains of opium, more than two grains of heroin, more than four grains of morphine, more than ten grains of cocaine, more than fifty micrograms of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) or its compounds, more than ten grains of crack, or more than one gram of ice or crank, as defined in Section 44-53-110, or unless it is used, intended for use, or in any manner facilitates a violation of Section 44-53-370(e) or fifteen tablets, capsules, dosage units, or the equivalent quantity of 3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA);
7. (7) all property including, but not limited to, monies, negotiable instruments, securities, or other things of value furnished or intended to be furnished by any person in exchange for a controlled substance, and all proceeds including, but not limited to, monies, and real and personal property traceable to any exchange;
8. (8) all monies seized in close proximity to forfeitable controlled substances, drug manufacturing, or distributing paraphernalia, or in close proximity to forfeitable records of the importation, manufacturing, or distribution of controlled substances and all monies seized at the time of arrest or search involving violation of this article. If the person from whom the monies were taken can establish to the satisfaction of a court of competent jurisdiction that the monies seized are not products of illegal acts, the monies must be returned pursuant to court order.
(b) Any property subject to forfeiture under this article may be seized by the department having authority upon warrant issued by any court having jurisdiction over the property. Seizure without process may be made if:
1. (1) the seizure is incident to an arrest or a search under a search warrant or an inspection under an administrative inspection warrant;
2. (2) the property subject to seizure has been the subject of a prior judgment in favor of the State in a criminal injunction or forfeiture proceeding based upon this article;
3. (3) the department has probable cause to believe that the property is directly or indirectly dangerous to health or safety; or
4. (4) the department has probable cause to believe that the property was used or is intended to be used in violation of this article.
(c) In the event of seizure pursuant to subsection (b), proceedings under Section 44-53-530 regarding forfeiture and disposition must be instituted within a reasonable time.
(d) Any property taken or detained under this section is not subject to replevin but is considered to be in the custody of the department making the seizure subject only to the orders of the court having jurisdiction over the forfeiture proceedings. Property described in Section 44-53-520(a) is forfeited and transferred to the government at the moment of illegal use. Seizure and forfeiture proceedings confirm the transfer.
(e) Controlled substances listed in Schedule I that are possessed, transferred, sold, or offered for sale in violation of this article are contraband and must be seized and summarily forfeited to the State. Controlled substances listed in Schedule I, which are seized or come into the possession of the State, the owners of which are unknown, are contraband and must be summarily forfeited to the State.
(f) Species of plants from which controlled substances in Schedules I and II may be derived which have been planted or cultivated in violation of this article, or of which the owners or cultivators are unknown, or which are wild growths, may be seized and summarily forfeited to the State.
(g) The failure, upon demand by the department having authority to make the demand, of the person in occupancy or in control of land or premises upon which the species of plants are growing or being stored to produce an appropriate registration, or proof that he is the holder thereof, constitutes authority for the seizure and forfeiture of the plants.
(h) For the purposes of this section, whenever the seizure of any property subject to seizure is accomplished as a result of a joint effort by more than one law enforcement agency, the law enforcement agency initiating the investigation is considered to be the agency making the seizure.
(i) Law enforcement agencies seizing property under this section shall take reasonable steps to maintain the property. Equipment and conveyances seized must be removed to an appropriate place for storage. Any monies seized must be deposited in an interest bearing account pending final disposition by the court unless the seizing agency determines the monies to be of an evidential nature and provides for security in another manner.
(j) When property and monies of any value as defined in this section or anything else of any value is seized, the law enforcement agency making the seizure, within ten days or a reasonable period of time after the seizure, shall submit a report to the appropriate prosecution agency.
1. (1) The report shall provide the following information with respect to the property seized:
  1. (a) description;
  2. (b) circumstances of seizure;
  3. (c) present custodian and where the property is being stored or its location;
  4. (d) name of owner;
  5. (e) name of lienholder, if any;
  6. (f) seizing agency; and
  7. (g) the type and quantity of the controlled substance involved.
2. (2) If the property is a conveyance, the report shall include the:
  1. (a) make, model, serial number, and year of the conveyance;
  2. (b) person in whose name the conveyance is registered; and
  3. (c) name of any lienholders.
3. (3) In addition to the report provided for in items (1) and (2), the law enforcement agency shall prepare for dissemination to the public upon request a report providing the following information:
  1. (a) a description of the quantity and nature of the property and money seized;
  2. (b) the seizing agency;
  3. (c) the type and quantity of the controlled substance involved;
  4. (d) the make, model, and year of a conveyance; and
  5. (e) the law enforcement agency responsible for the property or conveyance seized.
(k) Property or conveyances seized by a law enforcement agency or department must not be used by officers for personal purposes.
SECTION 44-53-520 does not violate the "takings" clause of the constitution by providing that property which facilitates trafficking in various controlled substances is subject to seizure and forfeiture, since forfeiture is within the legitimate exercise of the police power, not the power of eminent domain, and is directed to the prevention of serious public harm. Myers v. Real Property at 1518 Holmes Street (S.C. 1991) 306 S.C. 232, 411 S.E.2d 209.
2. In general
After seizing property due to controlled substances violations, city police department and county sheriff's office had no duty to defend against city's independent legal process to condemn the property due to building, structural and fire code deficiencies; forfeiture and condemnation proceedings were distinct competing legal processes. Gadson v. Hembree (S.C. 2005) 364 S.C. 316, 613 S.E.2d 533, rehearing denied. Controlled Substances 178; Health 392; Health 393
A law enforcement agency that seizes property that is subject to forfeiture due to controlled substances violations has a duty to take reasonable steps to maintain the property once a warrant is issued for seizure of the property. Gadson v. Hembree (S.C. 2005) 364 S.C. 316, 613 S.E.2d 533, rehearing denied. Controlled Substances 178
Trial court finding that the State failed to establish probable cause to support the forfeiture of defendant's truck was legal error; evidence was presented by the State to show that defendant's truck was used to transport and conceal crack cocaine, and the State presented evidence that approximately 20 grams of cocaine had been in defendant's truck. Pope v. Gordon (S.C.App. 2004) 359 S.C. 572, 598 S.E.2d 288, rehearing denied. Controlled Substances 184
The State failed to establish probable cause that the money in defendant's bank accounts contained proceeds traceable to illegal drug transactions, and thus the bank accounts were not subject to civil forfeiture; evidence established that defendant's bank accounts contained legitimate business income, there was no evidence that the deposit ticket seized from defendant's nephew showed the deposit of drug money or money from defendant's business, and there was no evidence that defendant was "washing" large amounts of undocumented money through the bank accounts. Pope v. Gordon (S.C.App. 2004) 359 S.C. 572, 598 S.E.2d 288, rehearing denied. Controlled Substances 184
The forfeiture of car under Section 44-53-520, on the ground that it was used to facilitate sale of a controlled substance, was not warranted where the evidence showed only that the arrestee drove the car on the day he was arrested for the sale of drugs to an informant, and that he had its keys in his pocket when police arrested him. Condon v. One 1985 BMW, 4 Door, VIN No. WBAAE6403F0704170 (S.C.App. 1994) 312 S.C. 431, 440 S.E.2d 895, rehearing denied, certiorari denied.
The only persons who may apply pursuant to Section 44-53-586 for the return of seized items which are normally used for lawful purposes, are third parties who hold an interest in the property seized, and who did not consent to, were not privy to, or did not have knowledge of the use of the property which made it subject to seizure or forfeiture. Medlock v. 1985 Ford F-150 Pick Up VIN 1FTDF15YGFNA22049 (S.C. 1992) 308 S.C. 68, 417 S.E.2d 85.
3. Jury trial
A defendant-owner of property, normally used for lawful purposes but which was seized pursuant to a drug offense, was entitled to a jury trial in a civil forfeiture action since forfeiture proceedings and similar actions were triable to a jury under the common law when the State Constitution was adopted, and since the defendant-owner would not have a right to replevy against the state for the property, if wrongfully forfeited. Medlock v. 1985 Ford F-150 Pick Up VIN 1FTDF15YGFNA22049 (S.C. 1992) 308 S.C. 68, 417 S.E.2d 85.
The forfeiture procedure articulated in Section 44-53-530(a), which provides that forfeiture proceedings pursuant to Sections 44-53-520 and -530 be held before a judge alone, is unconstitutional to the extent that it denies a property owner the right to a jury trial in those cases where the property subject to forfeiture is normally used for lawful purposes, since the legislature may not abrogate the right to a jury trial simply by designating a proceeding as a civil action without a jury. Medlock v. 1985 Ford F-150 Pick Up VIN 1FTDF15YGFNA22049 (S.C. 1992) 308 S.C. 68, 417 S.E.2d 85.