Okla. Stat. tit. 2, § 2-2-14.1

A. The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry

may take into possession any vehicle, implement of husbandry,

farming equipment or farm implement and any and all livestock, or

any part thereof, killed, taken, shipped, or possessed in violation

of any provision of the Oklahoma Agricultural Code.

B. In addition to the property described in subsection A of

this section, the following property is also subject to forfeiture

pursuant to this section:

1. Property used in the commission of theft of livestock or in

any manner to facilitate the theft of livestock;

2. The proceeds gained from the commission of theft of

livestock;

3. Personal property acquired with proceeds gained from the

commission of theft of livestock;

4. All conveyances, including aircraft, vehicles or vessels,

and horses or dogs which are used to transport or in any manner to

facilitate the transportation for the purpose of the commission of

theft of livestock;

5. Any items having a counterfeit mark;

6. Any weapon possessed, used or available for use in any

manner during the commission of a theft of livestock within the

State of Oklahoma; and

7. Any computer and its components and peripherals, including

but not limited to the central processing unit, monitor, keyboard,

printers, scanners, software, and hardware, when it is used in the

commission of theft of livestock in this state.

C. The property may be held as evidence until a forfeiture has

been declared or a release ordered. Forfeiture actions under this

section may be brought in district court by the Office of General

Counsel of the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and

Forestry as petitioner. At the request of the Commissioner of

Agriculture, the district attorney in the county of venue shall

bring a forfeiture action under this section. Provided, in the

event the Department or the district attorney elects not to file an

action, or fails to file an action within ninety (90) days of the

date of the seizure of the equipment, the property shall be returned

to the owner.

D. Notice of seizure and intended forfeiture proceeding shall

be filed in the office of the clerk of the district court for the

county where the property is seized and shall be given to all owners

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 2. Agriculture Page 54

and parties in interest. Notice shall be given according to one of

the following methods:

1. Upon each owner or party in interest whose right, title, or

interest is of record in the Oklahoma Tax Commission or with the

county clerk for filings under the Uniform Commercial Code, served

in the manner of service of process in civil cases prescribed by

Section 2004 of Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes;

2. Upon each owner or party in interest whose name and address

is known, served in the manner of service of process in civil cases

prescribed by Section 2004 of Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes; or

3. Upon all other owners, whose addresses are unknown, but who

are believed to have an interest in the property by one publication

in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the

seizure was made.

E. Within sixty (60) days after the mailing or publication of

the notice, the owner of the property and any other party in

interest or claimant may file a verified answer and claim to the

property described in the notice of seizure and of the intended

forfeiture proceeding.

F. If at the end of sixty (60) days after the notice has been

mailed or published there is no verified answer on file, the

district court shall hear evidence upon the fact of the unlawful use

and may order the property forfeited to the state, if proven.

G. If a verified answer is filed, the forfeiture proceeding

shall be set for hearing. At the hearing, the petitioner shall

prove by a preponderance of the evidence that property was used in

the attempt or commission of an act specified in subsection A of
ile, the

district court shall hear evidence upon the fact of the unlawful use

and may order the property forfeited to the state, if proven.

G. If a verified answer is filed, the forfeiture proceeding

shall be set for hearing. At the hearing, the petitioner shall

prove by a preponderance of the evidence that property was used in

the attempt or commission of an act specified in subsection A of

this section or is property described in subsection B of this

section with knowledge by the owner of the property.

H. The claimant of any right, title, or interest in the

property may prove the lien, mortgage, or conditional sales contract

to be bona fide and that the right, title, or interest created by

the document was created without any knowledge or reason to believe

that the property was being, or was to be, used for the purpose

charged.

I. In the event of such proof, the district court may order the

property released to the bona fide or innocent owner, lienholder,

mortgagee, or vendor if the amount due the person is equal to, or in

excess of, the value of the property as of the date of the seizure,

it being the intention of this section to forfeit only the right,

title, or interest of the purchaser, except for items bearing a

counterfeit mark or used exclusively to manufacture a counterfeit

mark.

J. If the amount due to the person is less than the value of

the property, or if no bona fide claim is established, the property

may be forfeited to the state and may be sold pursuant to judgment

of the court, as on sale upon execution, and as provided in Section

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 2. Agriculture Page 55

2-508 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes, except as otherwise

provided for by law and for property bearing a counterfeit mark

which shall be destroyed.

K. Property taken or detained pursuant to this section shall

not be repleviable, but shall be deemed to be in the custody of the

petitioner or in the custody of the law enforcement agency. Except

for property required to be destroyed pursuant to the Trademark

Anti-Counterfeiting Act, the petitioner shall release the property

to the owner of the property if it is determined that the owner had

no knowledge of the illegal use of the property or if there is

insufficient evidence to sustain the burden of showing illegal use

of the property. If the owner of the property stipulates to the

forfeiture and waives the hearing, the petitioner may determine if

the value of the property is equal to or less than the outstanding

lien. If the lien exceeds the value of the property, the property

may be released to the lien holder. Property which has not been

released by the petitioner shall be subject to the orders and

decrees of the court or the official having jurisdiction thereof.

L. The petitioner, or the law enforcement agency holding

property, shall not be held civilly liable for having custody of the

seized property or proceeding with a forfeiture action as provided

for in this section.

M. Attorney fees shall not be assessed against the state or the

petitioner for any actions or proceeding pursuant to this section.

N. The proceeds of the sale of any property shall be

distributed as follows, in the order indicated:

1. To the bona fide or innocent purchaser, conditional sales

vendor, or mortgagee of the property, if any, up to the amount of

that person’s interest in the property, when the court declaring the

forfeiture orders a distribution to the person;

2. To the payment of the actual reasonable expenses of

preserving the property; and

3. The balance shall be distributed as follows:

a. two-thirds (2/3) of the amount to the Agriculture

Evidence and Law Enforcement Fund, and

b. one-third (1/3) to the district attorney of the county

wherein the property was seized for the victim-witness

fund, a reward fund, or the evidence fund. If the

petitioner is not the district attorney, then the one-
es of

preserving the property; and

3. The balance shall be distributed as follows:

a. two-thirds (2/3) of the amount to the Agriculture

Evidence and Law Enforcement Fund, and

b. one-third (1/3) to the district attorney of the county

wherein the property was seized for the victim-witness

fund, a reward fund, or the evidence fund. If the

petitioner is not the district attorney, then the one-

third (1/3) which would have been designated to that

office shall be distributed to the Agriculture

Evidence and Law Enforcement Fund.

O. Monies distributed into the fund from forfeitures initiated

under this section by the district attorney shall be limited to a

balance of One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00) at any one

time. Any amount in excess of these figures shall be placed in the

Agriculture Revolving Fund.

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 2. Agriculture Page 56

P. If the district court finds that the property was not used

in the attempt or commission of an act specified in subsection A of

this section and was not property subject to forfeiture pursuant to

subsection B of this section and is not property bearing a

counterfeit mark, the Board or the court shall order the property

released to the owner as the right, title or interest appears on

record in the Oklahoma Tax Commission as of the seizure.

Q. No vehicle, airplane, or vessel used by a person as a common

carrier in the transaction of business as a common carrier shall be

forfeited pursuant to the provisions of this section unless it is

proven that the owner or other person in charge of the conveyance

was a consenting party or privy to the attempt or commission of an

act specified in subsection A or B of this section. No property

shall be forfeited pursuant to the provisions of this section by

reason of any act or omission established by the owner thereof to

have been committed or omitted without the knowledge or consent of

the owner, and by any person other than the owner while the property

was unlawfully in the possession of a person other than the owner in

violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any state.

R. Whenever any property is forfeited pursuant to this section,

the district court having jurisdiction of the proceeding may order

that the forfeited property may be retained for its official use by

the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry or by the

district attorney.