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Indiana prosecutor must better justify keeping cash seized from FedEx shipments, judge rules
A Marion County judge ruled that police may seize currency from shipments passing through Indiana, but prosecutors must provide more information to justify keeping the money. The decision is a partial win for plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit over seizures at the Indianapolis FedEx hub.
A Marion County court has ruled that Indiana authorities may seize cash from shipments passing through the state, but prosecutors must provide additional information to justify keeping it.
Marion Superior Court Magistrate Therese Hannah issued the split ruling Oct. 21 in a class-action lawsuit challenging cash seizures from packages at FedEx’s Indianapolis hub. The decision allows the seizures themselves to proceed while requiring the prosecutor’s office to offer more support for retaining the money.
The ruling places scrutiny on the next step in civil forfeiture cases: whether the government can show grounds to keep property after taking it. The available details do not specify what information prosecutors must provide or how the decision will affect individual claims.