How to Get Seized Money Back in Ohio — Petition for Return of Property Explained

Police seize cash during traffic stops or investigations, sometimes tens of thousands of dollars, even when they don’t arrest or charge anyone with a crime. But officers don’t gain the right to keep your money just because they took it. If you want to know how to get seized money back in Ohio, you take control: file a Petition for Return of Property and force the court to order its return.

Under Ohio Revised Code §2981.03, anyone whose property was taken without lawful justification has the right to demand its return, even if no charges were filed and no forfeiture case has been started. Law enforcement does not get unlimited time to hold your money “under investigation.” They either have to charge you or return it.

What Is a Petition for Return of Property?

A Petition for Return of Property is a legal motion filed in court demanding that police return seized money or belongings. It tells the court three things:

1. You own the property.

2. The police are still holding it.

3. They haven’t charged you or filed a forfeiture case.

Once that paperwork is filed before charges or forfeiture, the court is legally required to schedule a hearing within 21 days.

Can Police Keep Your Money Without Charging You?

No. Courts across the country have made it clear: the government cannot hold property indefinitely without due process.

• Fuentes v. Shevin — Any significant taking of property requires notice and a chance to be heard.

• United States v. James Daniel Good Real Property — Even if the initial seizure was legal, the government must provide prompt judicial review before keeping it.

• Ohio courts agree. In Long v. State, the court confirmed that common pleas courts can order seized funds returned when no forfeiture case has been filed.

What Evidence Do You Need?

To get seized money back in Ohio, you must show:

• You lawfully owned or possessed the money (bank statements, receipts, cash withdrawal records, etc.).

• The police are still holding it.

Once that’s proven, Ohio courts shift the burden. If the State believes the cash was tied to crime, they must prove it. And if they don’t file charges or forfeiture? They lose.

“But It Was a Lot of Money, Doesn’t That Look Suspicious?”

Owning cash is not illegal. Courts have repeatedly ruled that possession of large amounts of money alone does not prove criminal activity.

As one federal court said: “The government may not seize money… based on its bare assumption that most people do not have huge sums of money lying about.” United States v. $506,231 in U.S. Currency

In other words, having cash is not a crime.

How to Get Seized Money Back in Ohio, Step by Step

1. Hire counsel familiar with seizure law.

2. File a Petition for Return of Property in the court that covers the police department.

3. Force a hearing.

4. Make the State justify keeping your money — or give it back.

Take Action Before It Disappears

Law enforcement agencies never return seized cash on their own, you have to make them. If officers took your money and never filed charges, the law gives you the power to demand it back.

Ready to take it back? Contact attorney Steve Palmer at 614-224-6142 to speak with a lawyer who knows how to win property return petitions.

Act now. Your rights, and your money, belong to you, not the government.