About

Daniel M. Smith – Attorney Smith is highly regarded for his successful defense of Asset Forfeiture cases for over 30 years. Licensed in California and Arizona, he graduated from ASU in Economics and received his JD from California Western, the oldest ABA law school in San Diego. He is a 3rd generation lawyer with a passion for fighting the abuse of governmental power to take property. Many of his fellow criminal defense lawyers refer Mr. Smith asset forfeiture cases connected to their client’s arrest because they understand that Mr. Smith knows the system to get property back when possible without incriminating the person arrested or detained. Mr. Smith is the founding partner of San Diego Defenders, APC and is assisted by fellow Attorney and UCLA graduate Jon Pettis, Esq., USD graduate and Paralegal Layla Smith, UCSD graduate and Paralegal Itzel Martinez, and UCSB graduate and Legal Assistant Izabella Hudika. His firm offers payment plans and contingency fee agreements to meet the needs of his asset forfeiture clients along with video conferencing for clients’ convenience.

His first federal forfeiture defense was for indigent clients when he was a younger man and a Federal Defender. “Although it was not part of my job description, I could not stand to see the government forfeit and keep the only transportation my client’s family had after their son was accused of smuggling aliens or importing drugs. There was a rarely used code section that helped me to secure the return of the vehicle because the registered owner had no knowledge that the vehicle or ‘conveyance’ was being used for, so I could get it back with a carefully drafted petition! It did not affect my client’s criminal case. The family was grateful.”

Mr. Smith also notes that the Government’s use of “policing for profits” has expanded over the years and now the U.S. Customs, CBP, HSI and even the Postal Inspectors USPIS have joined what used to be mostly the DEA in seizing about 2.6 billion in property in 2018. He finds it outrageous. “I recall a case in which the government wanted to seize the entire bank account, home, and vehicle of my client based upon one small sale of marijuana. The fact of the matter was that my client had worked for City for about 20 years and we could show that every dollar came from that hard work and that one small sale could not justify his wife and small children to become virtually homeless with no way to get to school while their father was in custody for a year.”

Today, the cases defended by Mr. Smith and his San Diego Defenders Asset Forfeiture Law Firm are largely vehicles taken by CBP or US Border Protection and U.S. Currency when mailed or seized from our clients at the airport or at the border while entering or exiting Mexico. San Diego Defenders is located only miles from the busiest international border crossing in the world. Call 24/7 for a free telephone consultation at 619-258-8888 or fill out the online form and you will get a call back without hesitation.

 

 

EXPERIENCE – Daniel Smith is a third-generation lawyer with 30 years of experience in the successful return of Claimant’s property in federal and state seizure and forfeiture cases.

LOCATION – If the Covid-19 crisis taught us anything, SDD Forfeiture Law Firm is as close as your computer connection to video-conference via Google Groups, Microsoft Teams, Facetime, or Zoom. And Docu-sign Fee Agreements immediately. We will walk our clients through the process to get the documents we need to succeed in defending your rights against unlawful seizure.

ESTABLISHED – You can find our physical location on Google Earth and we don’t pretend to impress in a rented post office box suite. We have been in the same office for about a decade with no plans to move.

VERIFIED –  and trusted in the legal community. Supervising attorney Daniel Smith is licensed by State Bar Associations in difficult states such as California 1990 and Arizona 1991 and is a 3rd generation lawyer with real reviews from real clients.

TRUSTED –  SDD Forfeiture Law Firm asks for only administration fees upfront and offers payment plans or contingency fees programs. You will talk to a lawyer ( not a salesman or case manager.)  SDD Forfeiture lawyers offer free Confidential telephone consultations.