There are two types of owners involved in forfeiture cases:  suspects, or those alleged to have been involved in the crime, and third-parties, or those who merely own the property allegedly used in the crime. To forfeit the suspect’s property, the government must show that the property was either used by the suspect to commit or facilitate crime or that the property is or derived from proceeds of the crime. Third parties include spouses, parents, neighbors, vehicle-leasing companies, or creditors. Once third parties have shown that they have an interest in the seized property and the government shows the property was connected to a crime, the question is whether the third-party owner knew about the illegal use of their property to commit a crime. This question of knowledge is also known as an “innocent owner” defense. (Somewhat confusingly, only third-party owners can raise an innocent-owner defense, even though the suspects themselves may never be accused of any criminal wrongdoing.)  But unlike in criminal cases, where defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty, in many states and on the federal level, third-party owners generally must prove that they did not know about their property being used in criminal activity, flipping the presumption of innocence straight on its head. Only 13 states require the government to bear the burden of proof for innocent-owner claims.