You’re pulled over on a Houston highway for a minor traffic issue and provide your license and insurance. The officer asks where you’re headed, how long you’ve been driving, and then requests permission to search your vehicle. After a roadside discussion with another officer, they remove the envelope of cash you brought to buy a MacBook Pro on FB Marketplace, count it on the hood of the car, hand you a seizure receipt, and tell you that you’re free to leave. You drive away without charges, without your money, and without any clear explanation of what happens next or how you can challenge the seizure.
When police take your cash in Houston, TX, they don’t need to charge you with a crime to keep it. Under Texas asset forfeiture laws, law enforcement officers may seize money during a traffic stop, airport encounter, or investigation based on suspicion alone. The government then files a civil case against the cash itself, leaving you responsible for proving why the money should be returned. If this happens to you, let your next call be to Houston seized cash lawyer Amanda Skillern.
Why Hire Amanda Skillern for Your Houston Cash Seizure Case?
When law enforcement seizes cash, the agency relies on a written seizure report to justify keeping it. If no one challenges how that report was written, what it claims, or whether it meets civil asset forfeiture requirements, the government keeps the money by default. Hiring attorney Amanda Skillern brings the following advantages to your case:
- Background as a Prosecutor: Amanda Skillern spent more than eleven years as an Assistant District Attorney in Harris County. She evaluated whether the civil asset forfeiture reports legally supported the forfeiture or relied on assumptions tied to cash amounts, travel, or responses to questions. She knows which statements prosecutors accept at face value and which ones fail when tested against statutory requirements.
- Forfeiture Filing: Seized cash cases are governed by deadlines that can determine ownership of the money. Amanda Skillern reviews seizure notices, confirms whether the government complied with notice requirements, and files claims that stop automatic forfeiture. She seeks to identify defective filings and pleading errors that prevent the state from taking title to the cash.
- Evidence-Based Challenges: Amanda Skillern requires the government to support its civil asset forfeiture claim with valid evidence. She challenges seizure reports that rely on vague conclusions, dog alerts without corroboration, or questioning summaries framed to suggest criminal activity. She presents financial records, transaction history, and documentation that show lawful ownership and source of funds.
- Seizure Authority Identification: Amanda determines which agency seized the cash and under what authority before the case proceeds. The answers to these questions controls which forfeiture statute applies, which court has jurisdiction, and what deadlines govern the claim. Amanda understands that resolving these details at the outset are key to preventing procedural loss.
Seized cash cases don’t turn on your cooperation, or politeness, or even your explanation during the seizure. They turn on how the case is handled AFTER the seizure, and that is what Amanda Skillern knows how to do. Call her today at (832) 954-4722.
What Is Civil Asset Forfeiture in Texas?
Under Chapter 59 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, civil asset forfeiture allows law enforcement to take and keep property by claiming it was connected to criminal activity. In Texas, the government files a civil forfeiture lawsuit against the property itself, not against you. The case proceeds even if you were never arrested, charged, or convicted. Your money remains ‘in custody’ until final disposition.
The legal standard in civil forfeiture differs from the ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ in criminal charges. In civil forfeiture, prosecutors don’t have to prove anything beyond a reasonable doubt. Instead, they have to prove by a ‘preponderance of the evidence’ that the property was involved in or derived from certain criminal conduct. This ‘preponderance of the evidence’ standard is just ‘more likely than not’ so, in other words, prosecutors only have to prove something by 51%. That lower standard allows agencies to rely heavily on seizure reports, officer interpretations, and circumstantial indicators rather than direct proof of a crime.
Once the government sends notice of a State seizure, you must file a response within the time allowed. If no claim is filed, the court will sign a default judgment awarding the money to the government. Civil forfeiture law places the responsibility on you to act, even though the State took the property first.
Common Situations Where Cash Is Seized in Houston, TX
Money seizures usually happen under certain conditions. Understanding these scenarios helps you see how forfeiture cases start and why they require immediate legal action.
- Traffic Stops and Roadside Searches: Police frequently seize cash during traffic stops after asking questions unrelated to the alleged violation. Officers document the amount of money, how it’s stored, and how you answer questions about its source or destination. The stop may end without a citation or arrest, but the cash is taken based on claimed suspicion.
- Airport and Bus Terminal Encounters: Law enforcement officers often approach travelers after security screening or while waiting to board. They ask how much cash you’re carrying, where it came from, and why you have it with you. Even though carrying cash is legal, officers may seize it and issue a receipt while allowing you to continue traveling.
- Drug Investigations Without Criminal Charges: Cash seizures frequently occur during investigations where no drugs are found, and no arrest is made. Officers rely on prior contacts, alleged associations, or interpretations of behavior to claim a connection between the money and drug crimes. Those allegations later appear in forfeiture filings despite the absence of criminal charges.
- Consent-Based Searches: Many seizures follow consent to search a vehicle, bag, or personal property. Once consent is given, officers document how the cash is packaged or carried and describe those details as indicators of illegal activity. The search itself becomes the foundation for the forfeiture claim.
- Task Force and Federal Involvement: Some seizures involve joint operations between local police and federal law enforcement agencies. The agency that takes custody of the cash determines which law applies and where the forfeiture case proceeds. That distinction affects filing requirements, and the court that hears the case.
A Texas Standard analysis found nearly 60% of Texans whose property was seized didn’t even try to get it back, often because they believed it was a lost cause. Critics have decried the civil forfeiture practice as effectively allowing police to take property without due process, leading to potential abuse and disproportionate impact on innocent people.
What Happens After Your Money Is Seized?
Once law enforcement takes your cash, the forfeiture timeline starts immediately. Here’s what you can generally expect:
- Seizure Report and Property Receipt: The officer who takes the cash prepares a written report describing the stop, the questioning, and the alleged reason for the seizure (e.g., financial crimes, drug sales, illegal gambling). You may receive a property receipt that confirms what was taken and identifies the seizing agency. That report becomes the foundation for the forfeiture case.
- Notice of Forfeiture: The government must send written notice stating its intent to keep the cash. That notice identifies the agency handling the case and sets a deadline to contest the seizure.
- Claim Filing: To stop automatic forfeiture, you must file a response, which can take many different forms. If the response is late, incomplete, uses the wrong format/language or is filed in the wrong forum, the government can take ownership of the money without a hearing. Filing correctly is what prevents forfeiture by default.
- Court Proceedings: After a valid response is filed, the case moves through the court system. If negotiations with the prosecutor are unsuccessful, the case will be resolved by a hearing in court. The government relies on the testimony of the seizing officers, seizure report and supporting documentation to argue that the cash was connected to illegal activity. This is where you can challenge the seizure, the evidence, and compliance with forfeiture law.
The system assumes forfeiture will proceed unless challenged through formal filings. Knowing what happens after a seizure explains why delay leads to permanent loss and why early action changes the course of the case.
How a Houston Seized Cash Lawyer Can Help
Civil forfeiture cases involve written filings and evidentiary standards that control ownership of the cash. When you hire a Houston seized cash lawyer, you’re in a much better position to challenge the government’s claims and get your money returned to you. An experienced attorney can:
- Identifying the Seizing Authority: A seized cash lawyer can determine which agency took custody of the money and which forfeiture statute applies. That distinction controls the forum, the filing deadline, and the rules governing the case.
- Evaluating Seizure Reports: Your lawyer can review the seizure report to determine whether the allegations meet forfeiture requirements. Weaknesses in the report can form the basis for challenging the forfeiture.
- Controlling Procedural Deadlines: A Houston criminal defense lawyer can prepare and file claims that prevent automatic forfeiture and preserve court review. Procedural defects can determine the outcome before evidence is ever reviewed.
- Presenting Lawful Ownership Evidence: A seized cash lawyer can assemble financial records that address the government’s claims about the source and ownership of the money. Banking records, business records, and history of financial transactions can counter the narrative created by the seizure report.
- Challenging the Forfeiture in Court: Once a claim is filed, a seized cash lawyer can challenge the government’s case through motions, evidentiary objections, and discovery. The agency must then rely on admissible evidence rather than conclusions. Court review is what forces the government to defend the seizure.
Call a Houston Seized Cash Lawyer Now
When law enforcement seizes your cash, the deadline to act starts running immediately. A Houston seized cash lawyer can listen to you, review the seizure report and other evidence, and help you prevent the government from taking ownership of your hard-earned money by default.
If your cash was seized by the government, contact the Law Office of Amanda Skillern PLLC to discuss your situation and how to proceed with a defense strategy. To schedule a confidential consultation, please call (832) 954-4722 or contact our Houston criminal law firm online today.
