California Penal Code Section 12028.5

(a) As used in this section, the following definitions shall apply: (1) Abuse means any of the following: (A) Intentionally or recklessly to cause or attempt to cause bodily injury. (B) Sexual assault. (C) To place a person in reasonable apprehension of imminent serious bodily injury to that person or to another. (D) To molest, attack, strike, stalk, destroy personal property, or violate the terms of a domestic violence protective order issued pursuant to Part 4 (commencing with Section 6300) of Division 10 of the Family Code. (2) Domestic violence means abuse perpetrated against any of the following persons: (A) A spouse or former spouse. (B) A cohabitant or former cohabitant, as defined in Section 6209 of the Family Code. (C) A person with whom the respondent is having or has had a dating or engagement relationship. (D) A person with whom the respondent has had a child, where the presumption applies that the male parent is the father of the child of the female parent under the Uniform Parentage Act (Part 3 (commencing with Section 7600) of Division 12 of the Family Code). (E) A child of a party or a child who is the subject of an action under the Uniform Parentage Act, where the presumption applies that the male parent is the father of the child to be protected. (F) Any other person related by consanguinity or affinity within the second degree. (3) Deadly weapon means any weapon, the possession or concealed carrying of which is prohibited by Section 12020. (b) A sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff, marshal, deputy marshal, or police officer of a city, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 830.1, a peace officer of the Department of the California Highway Patrol, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 830.2, a member of the University of California Police Department, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 830.2, an officer listed in Section 830.6 while acting in the course and scope of his or her employment as a peace officer, a member of a California State University Police Department, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 830.2, a peace officer of the Department of Parks and Recreation, as defined in subdivision (f) of Section 830.2, a peace officer, as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 830.31, a peace officer, as defined in subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 830.32, and a peace officer, as defined in Section 830.5, who is at the scene of a domestic violence incident involving a threat to human life or a physical assault, shall take temporary custody of any firearm or other deadly weapon in plain sight or discovered pursuant to a consensual or other lawful search as necessary for the protection of the peace officer or other persons present. Upon taking custody of a firearm or other deadly weapon, the officer shall give the owner or person who possessed the firearm a receipt. The receipt shall describe the firearm or other deadly weapon and list any identification or serial number on the firearm. The receipt shall indicate where the firearm or other deadly weapon can be recovered, the time limit for recovery as required by this section, and the date after which the owner or possessor can recover the firearm or other deadly weapon. No firearm or other deadly weapon shall be held less than 48 hours. Except as provided in subdivision (f), if a firearm or other deadly weapon is not retained for use as evidence related to criminal charges brought as a result of the domestic violence incident or is not retained because it was illegally possessed, the firearm or other deadly weapon shall be made available to the owner or person who was in lawful possession 48 hours after the seizure or as soon thereafter as possible, but no later than five business days after the owner or person who was in lawful possession demonstrates compliance with Section 12021.3. In any civil action or proceeding for the return of firearms or ammunition or other deadly weapon seized by any state or local law enforcement agency and not returned within five business days following the initial seizure, except as provided in subdivision (d), the court shall allow reasonable attorney`s fees to the prevailing party. (c) Any peace officer, as defined in subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 830.32, who takes custody of a firearm or deadly weapon pursuant to this section shall deliver the firearm within 24 hours to the city police department or county sheriff`s office in the jurisdiction where the college or school is located. (d) Any firearm or other deadly weapon that has been taken into custody that has been stolen shall be restored to the lawful owner, as soon as its use for evidence has been served, upon his or her identification of the firearm or other deadly weapon and proof of ownership, and after the law enforcement agency has complied with Section 12021.3. (e) Any firearm or other deadly weapon taken into custody and held by a police, university police, or sheriff`s department or by a marshal`s office, by a peace officer of the Department of the California Highway Patrol, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 830.2, by a peace officer of the Department of Parks and Recreation, as defined in subdivision (f) of Section 830.2, by a peace officer, as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 830.31, or by a peace officer, as defined in Section 830.5, for longer than 12 months and not recovered by the owner or person who has lawful possession at the time it was taken into custody, shall be considered a nuisance and sold or destroyed as provided in subdivision (c) of Section 12028. Firearms or other deadly weapons not recovered within 12 months due to an extended hearing process as provided in subdivision (j), are not subject to destruction until the court issues a decision, and then only if the court does not order the return of the firearm or other deadly weapon to the owner. (f) In those cases in which a law enforcement agency has reasonable cause to believe that the return of a firearm or other deadly weapon would be likely to result in endangering the victim or the person reporting the assault or threat, the agency shall advise the owner of the firearm or other deadly weapon, and within 60 days of the date of seizure, initiate a petition in superior court to determine if the firearm or other deadly weapon should be returned. The law enforcement agency may make an ex parte application stating good cause for an order extending the time to file a petition. Including any extension of time granted in response to an ex parte request, a petition must be filed within 90 days of the date of seizure of the firearm or other deadly weapon. (g) The law enforcement agency shall inform the owner or person who had lawful possession of the firearm or other deadly weapon, at that person`s last known address by registered mail, return receipt requested, that he or she has 30 days from the date of receipt of the notice to respond to the court clerk to confirm his or her desire for a hearing, and that the failure to respond shall result in a default order forfeiting the confiscated firearm or other deadly weapon. For the purposes of this subdivision, the person`s last known address shall be presumed to be the address provided to the law enforcement officer by that person at the time of the family violence incident. In the event the person whose firearm or other deadly weapon was seized does not reside at the last address provided to the agency, the agency shall make a diligent, good faith effort to learn the whereabouts of the person and to comply with these notification requirements. (h) If the person requests a hearing, the court clerk shall set a hearing no later than 30 days from receipt of that request. The court clerk shall notify the person, the law enforcement agency involved, and the district attorney of the date, time, and place of the hearing. Unless it is shown by a preponderance of the evidence that the return of the firearm or other deadly weapon would result in endangering the victim or the person reporting the assault or threat, the court shall order the return of the firearm or other deadly weapon and shall award reasonable attorney`s fees to the prevailing party. (i) If the person does not request a hearing or does not otherwise respond within 30 days of the receipt of the notice, the law enforcement agency may file a petition for an order of default and may dispose of the firearm or other deadly weapon as provided in Section 12028. (j) If, at the hearing, the court does not order the return of the firearm or other deadly weapon to the owner or person who had lawful possession, that person may petition the court for a second hearing within 12 months from the date of the initial hearing. If there is a petition for a second hearing, unless it is shown by clear and convincing evidence that the return of the firearm or other deadly weapon would result in endangering the victim or the person reporting the assault or threat, the court shall order the return of the firearm or other deadly weapon and shall award reasonable attorney`s fees to the prevailing party. If the owner or person who had lawful possession does not petition the court within this 12-month period for a second hearing or is unsuccessful at the second hearing in gaining return of the firearm or other deadly weapon, the firearm or other deadly weapon may be disposed of as provided in Section 12028. (k) The law enforcement agency, or the individual law enforcement officer, shall not be liable for any act in the good faith exercise of this section.