All property seized must be returned to its rightful owner once the criminal proceedings have terminated. Cooper v. City of Greenwood , 904 F.2d 302, 304 (5th Cir. 1990) ; United States v. Farrell , 606 F.2d 1341, 1343 (D.C. Cir. 1979) ; United States v. LaFatch , 565 F.2d 81, 83 (6th Cir. 1977). When no charges are pending against an individual, any of the individual's property in the possession of the State should be immediately returned to him. See People v. Jaudon , 307 Ill. App. 3d 427, 447, 241 Ill.Dec. 76, 718 N.E.2d 647 (1999) (citing 725 ILCS 5/108-2 (West 1996) ); People v. Jackson , 26 Ill. App. 3d 845, 848-49, 326 N.E.2d 138 (1975). After criminal proceedings conclude, the government has no right to retain a defendant's property. United States v. Rodriguez-Aguirre , 264 F.3d 1195, 1213 (10th Cir. 2001). "t is fundamental to the integrity of the criminal justice process that property involved in the proceeding, against which no Government claim lies, be returned promptly to its rightful owner." United States v. Wilson , 540 F.2d 1100, 1103 (D.C. Cir. 1976).
People v. McCavitt, 438 Ill. Dec. 102, 109 (Ill. App. Ct. 2019)
People v. McCavitt, 438 Ill. Dec. 102, 109 (Ill. App. Ct. 2019)