[koheripbal]

Oh, I agree - someone should do a study like that. ...but anecdotes don't prove anything.

The process for reclaiming seized assets is well documented...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_forfeiture_in_the_United...

[ceejayoz]

Nothing in that link supports your assertion that just showing up typically suffices.

> Victims often have "long legal struggles to get their money back".

[koheripbal]

The statistic in the article that 85% of seizures that are kept are the product of people not showing up to court, does indeed suggest that.

[ceejayoz]

85% of people not showing up for court does not mean that 85% of people would win immediately upon showing up. As my examples demonstrate, merely showing up can be the first step in a very lengthy and expensive process.

If I go see a lawyer and they tell me "it'll take years, you'll get back only some of the money, and most of it will go to paying me", I'd skip court too.