Pretrial Release of Seized Motor Vehicles
In every case where a person is charged with felony speeding to elude arrest pursuant to G.S. 20-141.5(b) or (b1), the motor vehicle driven is subject to seizure and forfeiture. This is also true in DWI cases where, at the date of offense, the defendant’s driver’s license was revoked for an impaired driving revocation or the defendant did not have a valid license nor insurance. When in district court, these cases have expedited calendaring requirements (discussed here). This is in part to preserve the vehicle’s value while the case is pending. Upon seizure, the vehicle is usually first towed to a local storage facility, then transferred to the facilities of a state contractor within a few days. There are fees for towing, as well as accruing fees for storage. Whether the motor vehicle is released to its owner, a lienholder, or forfeited to the county board of education, these towing and storage fees must be paid. Often, these fees are paid out of the proceeds of the sale of the vehicle. While expediting the underlying case towards resolution is one way to minimize these fees, another is release of the vehicle before case disposition. This post addresses the circumstances under which a vehicle may be fully released pretrial and does not have to be brought back for a later forfeiture hearing.
The ticking clock. The more time a seized vehicle spends in storage, the more must be paid to the state contractor holding the vehicle. If, at the end of the case, the vehicle is ordered returned to the owner, the owner must find the money to pay the towing and storage fees, or risk forfeiting the vehicle to the storage lot to be sold. In that case the owner would only be entitled to the sale proceeds that remain after all towing and storage fees are paid (G.S. 20-28.4). Similarly, if the vehicle is ordered forfeited to the county board of education, the only proceeds the school fund may receive are what remains after towing, storage, and other administrative costs are paid (G.S. 20-28.2(h)).
