California criminal defense California Injury Law Deadlines California Personal Injury Lawyers - Submit Case California Personal Injury - What To Do California Personal Injury Attorney - Contact Us

  Talk To A Legal Aid Online For FREE | Submit Your Case For FREE Evaluation |  

 

   CALIFORNIA VEHICLE CODE    

   :: SECTION 23592-23596

 

23592.  (a) (1) Whenever a person is convicted of any of the
following offenses committed while driving a motor vehicle of which
he or she is the owner, the court, at the time sentence is imposed on
the person, may order the motor vehicle impounded for a period of
not more than six months for a first conviction, and not more than 12
months for a second or subsequent conviction:
   (A) Driving with a suspended or revoked driver's license.
   (B) A violation of Section 2800.2 resulting in an accident or
Section 2800.3, if either violation occurred within seven years of
one or more separate convictions for a violation of any of the
following:
   (i) Section 23103, if the vehicle involved in the violation was
driven at a speed of 100 or more miles per hour.
   (ii) Section 23152.
   (iii) Section 23153.
   (iv) Section 191.5 of the Penal Code.
   (v) Subdivision (c) of Section 192 of the Penal Code.
   (2) The cost of keeping the vehicle is a lien on the vehicle
pursuant to Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 3067) of Title 14 of
Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code.
   (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), any motor vehicle impounded
pursuant to this section which is subject to a chattel mortgage,
conditional sale contract, or lease contract shall be released by the
court to the legal owner upon the filing of an affidavit by the
legal owner that the chattel mortgage, conditional sale contract, or
lease contract is in default and shall be delivered to the legal
owner upon payment of the accrued cost of keeping the vehicle.



23594.  (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), the interest of
any registered owner of a motor vehicle that has been used in the
commission of a violation of Section 23152 or 23153 for which the
owner was convicted, is subject to impoundment as provided in this
section.  Upon conviction, the court may order the vehicle impounded
at the registered owner's expense for not less than one nor more than
30 days.
   If the offense occurred within five years of a prior offense which
resulted in conviction of a violation of Section 23152 or 23153, the
prior conviction shall also be charged in the accusatory pleading
and if admitted or found to be true by the jury upon a jury trial or
by the court upon a court trial, the court shall, except in an
unusual case where the interests of justice would best be served by
not ordering impoundment, order the vehicle impounded at the
registered owner's expense for not less than one nor more than 30
days.
   If the offense occurred within five years of two or more prior
offenses which resulted in convictions of violations of Section 23152
or 23153, the prior convictions shall also be charged in the
accusatory pleading and if admitted or found to be true by the jury
upon a jury trial or by the court upon a court trial, the court
shall, except in an unusual case where the interests of justice would
best be served by not ordering impoundment, order the vehicle
impounded at the registered owner's expense for not less than one nor
more than 90 days.
   For the purposes of this section, the court may consider in the
interests of justice factors such as whether impoundment of the
vehicle would result in a loss of employment of the offender or the
offender's family, impair the ability of the offender or the offender'
s family to attend school or obtain medical care, result in the loss
of the vehicle because of inability to pay impoundment fees, or
unfairly infringe upon community property rights or any other facts
the court finds relevant.  When no impoundment is ordered in an
unusual case pursuant to this section, the court shall specify on the
record and shall enter in the minutes the circumstances indicating
that the interests of justice would best be served by that
disposition.
   (b) No vehicle which may be lawfully driven on the highway with a
class C or class M driver's license, as specified in Section 12804.9,
is subject to impoundment under this section if there is a community
property interest in the vehicle owned by a person other than the
defendant and the vehicle is the sole vehicle available to the
defendant's immediate family which may be operated on the highway
with a class C or class M driver's license.



23596.  (a) (1) Upon its own motion or upon motion of the prosecutor
in a criminal action for a violation of any of the following
offenses, the court with jurisdiction over the offense,
notwithstanding Section 86 of the Code of Civil Procedure and any
other provision of law otherwise prescribing the jurisdiction of the
court based upon the value of the property involved, may declare the
motor vehicle driven by the defendant to be a nuisance if the
defendant is the registered owner of the vehicle:
   (A) A violation of Section 191.5 of, or paragraph (3) of
subdivision (c) of Section 192 of, the Penal Code.
   (B) A violation of Section 23152 which occurred within seven years
of two or more separate offenses of Section 191.5 of, or paragraph
(3) of subdivision (c) of Section 192 of, the Penal Code, or Section
23152 or 23153, or any combination thereof, which resulted in
convictions.
   (C) A violation of Section 23153 which occurred within seven years
of one or more separate offenses of Section 191.5 of, or paragraph
(3) of subdivision (c) of Section 192 of, the Penal Code, or Section
23152 or 23153, which resulted in convictions.
   (2) The court or the prosecutor shall give notice of the motion to
the defendant, and the court shall hold a hearing before a motor
vehicle may be declared a nuisance under this section.
   (b) Except as provided in subdivision (g), upon the conviction of
the defendant and at the time of pronouncement of sentence, the court
with jurisdiction over the offense shall order any vehicle declared
to be a nuisance pursuant to subdivision (a) to be sold.  Any vehicle
ordered to be sold pursuant to this subdivision shall be surrendered
to the sheriff of the county or the chief of police of the city in
which the violation occurred.  The officer to whom the vehicle is
surrendered shall promptly ascertain from the department the names
and addresses of all legal and registered owners of the vehicle and,
within five days of receiving that information, shall send by
certified mail a notice to all legal and registered owners of the
vehicle other than the defendant, at the addresses obtained from the
department, informing them that the vehicle has been declared a
nuisance and will be sold or otherwise disposed of pursuant to this
section and of the approximate date and location of the sale or other
disposition.  The notice shall also inform any legal owner of its
right to conduct the sale pursuant to subdivision (c).
   (c) Any legal owner who is a motor vehicle dealer, bank, credit
union, acceptance corporation, or other licensed finance institution
legally operating in this state, or the agent of that legal owner,
may take possession and conduct the sale of the vehicle declared to
be a nuisance if it notifies the officer to whom the vehicle is
surrendered of its intent to conduct the sale within 15 days of the
mailing of the notice pursuant to subdivision (b).  Sale of the
vehicle pursuant to this subdivision may be conducted at the time, in
the manner, and on the notice usually given for the sale of
repossessed or surrendered vehicles.  The proceeds of any sale
conducted by the legal owner shall be disposed of as provided in
subdivision (e).  A notice pursuant to this subdivision may be
presented in person, by certified mail, by facsimile transmission, or
by electronic mail.  The agent of a legal owner acting pursuant to
this subdivision shall be licensed, or exempt from licensure,
pursuant to Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 7500) of Division 3
of the Business and Professions Code.
   (d) If the legal owner or the agent of the legal owner does not
notify the officer to whom the vehicle is surrendered of its intent
to conduct the sale as provided in subdivision (c), the officer shall
offer the vehicle for sale at public auction within 60 days of
receiving the vehicle.  At least 10 days but not more than 20 days
prior to the sale, not counting the day of the sale, the officer
shall give notice of the sale by advertising once in a newspaper of
general circulation published in the city or county, as the case may
be, in which the vehicle is located, which notice shall contain a
description of the make, year, model, identification number, and
license number of the vehicle and the date, time, and location of the
sale.  For motorcycles, the engine number shall also be included.
If there is no newspaper of general circulation published in the
county, notice shall be given by posting a notice of sale containing
the information required by this subdivision in three of the most
public places in the city or county in which the vehicle is located,
and at the place where the vehicle is to be sold, for 10 consecutive
days prior to and including the day of the sale.
   (e) The proceeds of a sale conducted pursuant to this section
shall be disposed of in the following priority:
   (1) To satisfy the costs of the sale, including costs incurred
with respect to the taking and keeping of the vehicle pending sale.
   (2) To the legal owner in an amount to satisfy the indebtedness
owed to the legal owner remaining as of the date of the sale,
including accrued interest or finance charges and delinquency
charges.
   (3) To the holder of any subordinate lien or encumbrance on the
vehicle to satisfy any indebtedness so secured if written
notification of demand is received before distribution of the
proceeds is completed.  The holder of a subordinate lien or
encumbrance, if requested, shall reasonably furnish reasonable proof
of its interest and, unless it does so on request, is not entitled to
distribution pursuant to this paragraph.
   (4) To any other person who can establish an interest in the
vehicle, including a community property interest, to the extent of
his or her provable interest.
   (5) If the vehicle was forfeited as a result of a felony violation
of Section 191.5 of the Penal Code, or of Section 23153 that
resulted in serious bodily injury to any person other than the
defendant, the balance, if any, to the city or county in which the
violation occurred, to be deposited in its general fund.
   (6) Except as provided in paragraph (5), the balance, if any, to
the city or county in which the violation occurred, to be expended
for community-based adolescent substance abuse treatment services.
   The person conducting the sale shall disburse the proceeds of the
sale as provided in this subdivision, and provide a written
accounting regarding the disposition to all persons entitled to or
claiming a share of the proceeds, within 15 days after the sale is
conducted.
   (f) If the vehicle to be sold under this section is not of the
type that can readily be sold to the public generally, the vehicle
shall be destroyed or donated to an eleemosynary institution.
   (g) No vehicle shall be sold pursuant to this section in either of
the following circumstances:
   (1) The vehicle is stolen, unless the identity of the legal and
registered owners of the vehicle cannot be reasonably ascertained.
   (2) The vehicle is owned by another, or there is a community
property interest in the vehicle owned by a person other than the
defendant and the vehicle is the only vehicle available to the
defendant's immediate family that may be operated on the highway with
a class 3 or class 4 driver's license.
   (h) The Legislature finds and declares it to be the public policy
of this state that no policy of insurance shall afford benefits that
would alleviate the financial detriment suffered by any person as a
direct or indirect result of a confiscation of a vehicle pursuant to
this section.





Copyright 2002-2018 Defend-Me.com All Rights Reserved Home | Site Map | Terms | Contact Us