In a case involving personal injuries, a trial court held that evidence of whether plaintiff’s vehicle was “totaled” as a result of the accident was inadmissible. While photographs of the vehicle are admissible, the court held that the use of photographs from an accident is distinguishable from advising the jury that a vehicle was totaled. Shot-up Car Being Held in Evidence. Good luck. Thank you for your inquiry The basis for keeping a vehicle could be - part of investigation of a crime and being held as evidence, possible forfeiture. Sad when you have to decide if the cops are the good guys or the bad guys on a case by case basis. If your notice the car has been damaged a lot while being held for evidence by the NHSP. Avvo has 97% of all lawyers in the US. After you are convicted or acquitted of the crime, police will have no more need for the vehicle and may return it. For purposes of this subsection, "criminal episode" means a series of thefts committed by the same person from one or more mercantile establishments on three or more occasions within a five-day period. When you finance or lease a vehicle, your creditor holds important rights on the vehicle until you've made the last loan payment or fully paid off your lease obligation. Lawyers, Answer Questions & Get Points Google Local Services Ads - Be at the Top of the Google Search Results. A review is being carried out into how a car being held as evidence as part of a high profile abduction caught fire. Even if the judge won't intervene, at least the police will know a judge is aware of the situation. Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. Log In. Even though he had given permission for it to sit on his apartment house property, It had now been there for three years and it didn't run and was in the way and he now wanted to let his tenants use the space for parking their vehicles, he had told the owner of the vehicle this and that he wanted it off the property but they never did anything about it.. In Kuzian, plaintiff was involved in an automobile accident with the defendant. If they are holding your car as evidence then it is not because they saw someone getting into the car. Just to harm her and her husband. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. In these cases, you may need to follow the same steps to get your car back as if you were the criminal suspect. Simply going to the specified police station or impound lot and asking for your car is usually enough. 2019). Re: Car Impounded and Held as Evidence that's the first time that question has been answered. I've called my public defender & … Police sometimes DO put an investigative hold on an impounded vehicle, but it's almost always a lie. I would very much like to know where I legally stand on this. I'm as leery of the police as anyone, but I'd not let them just keep my car - unless I really was ducking from something. YOU SHOULD RETAIN PROOF OF SERVICE. The following definitions are applicable in this chapter unless the context otherwise requires: (1) "Access device" means any card, plate, code, account number, or other means of account access that can be used alone or in conjunction with another access device to obtain money, goods, services, or anything else of value, or that can be used to initiate a transfer of funds, other than a transfer originated solely by paper instrument; (2) "Appropriate lost or misdelivered property or services" means obtaining or exerting control over the property or services of another which the actor knows to have been lost or mislaid, or to have been delivered under a mistake as to identity of the recipient or as to the nature or amount of the property; (3) "Beverage crate" means a plastic or metal box-like container used by a manufacturer or distributor in the transportation or distribution of individually packaged beverages to retail outlets, and affixed with language stating "property of _______," "owned by _________," or other markings or words identifying ownership; (4) "By color or aid of deception" means that the deception operated to bring about the obtaining of the property or services; it is not necessary that deception be the sole means of obtaining the property or services; (5) "Deception" occurs when an actor knowingly: (a) Creates or confirms another's false impression which the actor knows to be false; or, (b) Fails to correct another's impression which the actor previously has created or confirmed; or, (c) Prevents another from acquiring information material to the disposition of the property involved; or, (d) Transfers or encumbers property without disclosing a lien, adverse claim, or other legal impediment to the enjoyment of the property, whether that impediment is or is not valid, or is or is not a matter of official record; or. A review is being carried out into how a car being held as evidence as part of a high profile abduction caught fire. (e) Property or services having value that cannot be ascertained pursuant to the standards set forth above shall be deemed to be of a value not exceeding two hundred and fifty dollars; (19) "Wrongfully obtains" or "exerts unauthorized control" means: (a) To take the property or services of another; (b) Having any property or services in one's possession, custody or control as bailee, factor, lessee, pledgee, renter, servant, attorney, agent, employee, trustee, executor, administrator, guardian, or officer of any person, estate, association, or corporation, or as a public officer, or person authorized by agreement or competent authority to take or hold such possession, custody, or control, to secrete, withhold, or appropriate the same to his or her own use or to the use of any person other than the true owner or person entitled thereto; or. Get the USLegal Last Will Combo Legacy Package and protect your family today! – (Law Div. The prosecutors office will then keep the car as evidence to submit in court against an individual. In many cases of drug trafficking or possession, police will tow the vehicle back to their headquarters to search the car. (b) In relation to labor or service, to secure performance thereof for the benefits of the obtainer or another; (9) "Owner" means a person, other than the actor, who has possession of or any other interest in the property or services involved, and without whose consent the actor has no authority to exert control over the property or services; (10) "Parking area" means a parking lot or other property provided by retailers for use by a customer for parking an automobile or other vehicle; (11) "Receive" includes, but is not limited to, acquiring title, possession, control, or a security interest, or any other interest in the property; (12) "Services" includes, but is not limited to, labor, professional services, transportation services, electronic computer services, the supplying of hotel accommodations, restaurant services, entertainment, the supplying of equipment for use, and the supplying of commodities of a public utility nature such as gas, electricity, steam, and water; (13) "Shopping cart" means a basket mounted on wheels or similar container generally used in a retail establishment by a customer for the purpose of transporting goods of any kind; (14) "Stolen" means obtained by theft, robbery, or extortion; (15) "Subscription television service" means cable or encrypted video and related audio and data services intended for viewing on a home television by authorized members of the public only, who have agreed to pay a fee for the service. By bbutcher85 in forum Accidents and Injuries, By utahman in forum Moving Violations, Parking and Traffic Tickets, By Smash915 in forum Moving Violations, Parking and Traffic Tickets, By carlikito in forum Moving Violations, Parking and Traffic Tickets, By Guilty Or Not Guilty in forum Moving Violations, Parking and Traffic Tickets, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkM-gDcmJeM, My Vehicle is Being Held As Evidence and I Am Not at Fault, How to Get My ID From My Impounded Car Without Paying, If this is your first visit please consider. It may mean that a vehicle has been completely demolished in a serious accident or it may mean that an insurance company has determined that the cost to repair the vehicle is higher than the actual cash value of the vehicle. The court thus upheld the objection and held that it is improper for a plaintiff to question a witness as to whether a vehicle has been totaled in an automobile negligence action. So realistically, they can keep your vehicle till the end of a trial and that could take years. In cases of severe traffic crimes that lead to arrest, police often must tow the car or drive it to the station for safekeeping. The amount of sale proceeds that the landlord may apply towards such costs may not exceed the actual or reasonable costs for drayage and storage of the property, whichever is less.