In Re Property Seized From Wagner

SCHULTZ, Justice.

The issue in this appeal concerns the ownership of currency seized by police from a drug dealer. The police department was garnished by a judgment creditor of the drug dealer after seizure of the currency but before the State gave notice of forfeiture. The trial court ruled that title to derivative contraband does not vest in the State by virtue of seizure alone, and that the creditor acquired a superior lien on the currency by garnishing the police department before the State filed notice of forfeiture. We disagree and reverse.

The facts were stipulated to by the parties. In…