Request By:
Mr. Edward J. Blau
Circuit/District Court Clerk
Campbell Circuit Court
Fourth & York Streets
Newport, Kentucky 41071
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Elizabeth E. Blackford, Assistant Attorney General
You have written to ask several questions concerning the safe keeping and disposal of evidence and contraband found subject to forfeiture. We will answer them seriatum.
1. Are you, as circuit court clerk, responsible for the safekeeping of evidence such as seized drugs, alcoholic beverages, weapons, etc., in district court cases or cases pending appeal from the district to the circuit court?
Answer: No. This responsibility rests with the peace officer, law enforcement officer or departmental agent who is authorized to seize such evidence. See, for example, KRS 138.165 relating to contraband cigarettes; KRS 218A.230 relating to controlled substances; KRS 244.190 relating to alcoholic beverages.
2. May you, as circuit clerk, take responsibility for destroying forfeited contraband or evidence. If not, who is responsible, and what procedure should be followed?
Answer: You are not and may not be responsible for the destruction or disposition of forfeited contraband. Pursuant to KRS 500.090, copy enclosed, all items subject to forfeiture under the penal code shall be disposed of, as the court shall order, by the county sheriff. This includes such items as guns, wiretapping devices, etc. See also OAG 75-712, copy enclosed, which says only sheriffs may be responsible for this. Pursuant to KRS 218A.230, copy enclosed, any forfeited controlled substances shall be destroyed, upon order of the court, by the law enforcement agency or shall be remitted to the Department of Human Resources for destruction. Items other than those required to be destroyed by law shall be disposed of according to the procedures outlined in KRS 218A.230 and and 218A.270, copy enclosed.
3. May you, pursuant to an order, retain examples of forfeited contraband for display for educational or demonstrative purposes?
Answer: No. All items must be disposed of as directed in the governing statutes. Retention for the above named purposes is not statutorially authorized and, therefore, is not permissible.