N.Y. PEN Law § 410.00 — New York Code / Act PEN / Part 4 / Title W / Article 410 / Section 410.00
Seizure and forfeiture of equipment used in photographing, filming, producing, manufacturing, projecting or distributing pornographic sti...
Status: in_force

§ 410.00 Seizure and forfeiture of equipment used in photographing,\n           filming, producing, manufacturing, projecting or distributing\n           pornographic still or motion pictures.\n  1. Any peace officer, acting pursuant to his special duties, or police\nofficer of this state may seize any equipment used in the photographing,\nfilming, printing, producing, manufacturing or projecting of\npornographic still or motion pictures and may seize any vehicle or other\nmeans of transportation, other than a vehicle or other means of\ntransportation used by any person as a common carrier in the transaction\nof business as such common carrier, used in the distribution of such\nobscene prints and articles and such equipment or vehicle or other means\nof transportation shall be subject to forfeiture as hereinafter in this\nsection provided.\n  2. The seized property shall be delivered by the police officer or\npeace officer having made the seizure to the custody of the district\nattorney of the county wherein the seizure was made, except that in the\ncities of New York, Yonkers and Buffalo, the seized property shall be\ndelivered to the custody of the police department of such cities,\ntogether with a report of all the facts and circumstances of the\nseizure.\n  3. It shall be the duty of the district attorney of the county wherein\nthe seizure was made, if elsewhere than in the cities of New York or\nBuffalo, and where the seizure is made in either such city it shall be\nthe duty of the corporation counsel of the city, to inquire into the\nfacts of the seizure so reported to him and if it appears probable that\na forfeiture has been incurred, for the determination of which the\ninstitution of proceedings in the supreme court is necessary, to cause\nthe proper proceedings to be commenced and prosecuted, at any time after\nthirty days from the date of seizure, to declare such forfeiture,\nunless, upon inquiry and examination such district attorney or\ncorporation counsel decides that such proceedings can not probably be\nsustained or that the ends of public justice do not require that they\nshould be instituted or prosecuted, in which case, the district attorney\nor corporation counsel shall cause such seized property to be returned\nto the owner thereof.\n  4. Notice of the institution of the forfeiture proceeding shall be\nserved either (a) personally on the owners of the seized property or (b)\nby registered mail to the owners' last known address and by publication\nof the notice once a week for two successive weeks in a newspaper\npublished or circulated in the county wherein the seizure was made.\n  5. Forfeiture shall not be adjudged where the owners established by\npreponderance of the evidence that (a) the use of such seized property\nwas not intentional on the part of any owner, or (b) said seized\nproperty was used by any person other than an owner thereof, while such\nseized property was unlawfully in the possession of a person who\nacquired possession thereof in violation of the criminal laws of the\nUnited States, or of any state.\n  6. The district attorney or the police department having custody of\nthe seized property, after such judicial determination of forfeiture,\nshall, by a public notice of at least five days, sell such forfeited\nproperty at public sale. The net proceeds of any such sale, after\ndeduction of the lawful expenses incurred, shall be paid into the\ngeneral fund of the county wherein the seizure was made except that the\nnet proceeds of the sale of property seized in the cities of New York\nand Buffalo shall be paid into the respective general funds of such\ncities.\n  7. Whenever any person interested in any property which is seized and\ndeclared forfeited under the provisions of this section files with a\njustice of the supreme court a petition for the recovery of such\nforfeited property, the justice of the supreme court may restore said\nforfeited property upon such terms and conditions as he deems reasonable\nand just, if the petitioner establishes either of the affirmative\ndefenses set forth in subdivision five of this section and that the\npetitioner was without personal or actual knowledge of the forfeiture\nproceeding.  If the petition be filed after the sale of the forfeited\nproperty, any judgment in favor of the petitioner shall be limited to\nthe net proceeds of such sale, after deduction of the lawful expenses\nand costs incurred by the district attorney, police department or\ncorporation counsel.\n  8. No suit or action under this section for wrongful seizure shall be\ninstituted unless such suit or action is commenced within two years\nafter the time when the property was seized.\n  9. For the purposes of this section only, a pornographic still or\nmotion picture, is defined as a still or motion picture showing acts of\nsexual intercourse or acts of sexual perversion. This section shall not\nbe construed as applying to bona fide medical photographs or films.\n