As a criminal defense firm representing a many clients who have been charged with Driving Wile Intoxicated or Driving While Impaired by Alcohol or Drugs we found ourselves confronted by the fact that the resolution of our clients' criminal  matters was not really the end of their problem. Losing a vehicle frequently had a greater consequence than the penalties set forth in the Penal or Vehicle & Traffic Laws.

After our clients' arrest they would be served in a civil action in which the County sought to take the car they were driving regardless of the facts and in spite of what we believed to be case law clearly prohibiting their actions. We have successfully defended cases resulting not only  in a decision that the vehicle would not be lost but in an award of sanctions against the county (money paid back to our client) for bringing and maintaining the lawsuit despite facts which should have led them not to proceed. 

There are defenses to forfeiture actions, whether contained in the Statute that allows for vehicle forfeiture or the State or Federal case law  and we have used these defenses successfully to prevent the forfeiture of vehicles for a multitude of our clients, their friends and families. For more information regarding Nassau County's automobile click here. Defenses exist in all Counties!