California Asset Forfeiture Law & Procedure,
by Brenda Grantland, Esq.
420 page hardback book
list price $175
This legal treatise focuses on asset forfeiture under California state law. Although it briefly covers federal forfeiture law that a state forfeiture litigant needs to know, such as federal adoption of a state seizure and federal constitutional requirements, coverage of federal law and procedure is beyond the scope of this book.
Forfeiture law and procedure is very complicated, and there is a substantial learning curve — even for experienced lawyers. Forfeiture is really too complicated for most claimants to represent themselves adequately, but sometimes they are forced to because they can’t afford an attorney, or hiring a lawyer would cost more than the property is worth. For their sake, this book endeavors to explain all of the steps and procedural requirements needed to defend a state forfeiture case.
This book is also very helpful to lawyers new to forfeiture defense, often criminal defense lawyers, who may not be familiar with state civil procedure.
This is not a book “for dummies.” Forfeiture law is too complicated to dumb down that much. Forfeiture claimants forced to represent themselves just have to dig in and learn what they need to learn as they go along. Where research is required beyond the information provided in this book, links to free online resources are provided — including websites for conducting free online legal research.
Judges and prosecutors will find this book invaluable too, Because litigants often have only a few days to react when a case is filed and may not know where to turn, this book should be made available in every California law library.