307.05 PROBABLE CAUSE HEARING.
(a) Right to Hearing. A person who is the owner or lienholder of record of a vehicle which has been impounded pursuant to the authority granted under Section 307.01 has a right to a post seizure administrative hearing to determine whether there was probable cause to impound the vehicle. Such person must file a writtendemand, on forms provided, for such a hearing with the Municipality within five days after such person has learned such vehicle has been impounded or within five days after the mailing of the date set in the notice of impoundment, whichever occurs first.
(b) Conduct of Hearing. A hearing shall be conducted before a hearing officer, who shall be the Director of Law or his designee, within seventy-two hours of receipt of a written demand therefor from the person seeking the hearing unless such person waives the right to a speedy hearing. Saturdays, Sundays and municipal holidays are to be excluded from the calculation of the seventy-two hour period. The sole issue before the hearing officer shall be whether there was probable cause to impound the vehicle in question. "Probable cause to impound" means a state of facts from which a person of ordinary care and prudence would conclude that there were sufficient grounds for removal of the vehicle under the authority granted in Section 307.01.
The hearing officer shall conduct the hearing in an informal manner and shall not be bound by technical rules of evidence. The person demanding the hearing shall carry the burden of establishing that such person has the right to possession of the vehicle. The Police Division shall carry the burden of establishing that there was probable cause to impound the vehicle in question. At the conclusion of the hearing, the hearing officer shall prepare a written decision. A copy of such decision shall be provided to the person demanding the hearing and the registered owner of the vehicle (if not the person requesting the hearing). The only issue to be considered at the hearing shall be the correctness of the impoundment of the motor vehicle. Any question of the merits of any traffic citation issued concurrently with or underlying the impoundment of the motor vehicle shall not be considered. The decision of the hearing officer is final. Failure of the registered or legal owner, or their agent to request or attend a scheduled post-seizure hearing shall be deemed a waiver of the right to such hearing.
(c) Decisions of the Hearing Officer. The hearing officer shall only determine that as to the vehicle in issue either:
(1) There was probable cause to impound the vehicle, or
(2) There was no such probable cause.
In the event that the hearing officer determined that there was no probable cause, the hearing officer shall prepare and date a "certificate of no probable cause", copies of which shall be given to the possessor of the vehicle and the Police Division. Upon receipt of the possessor's copy of such certificate, the garage having custody of the vehicle shall release the vehicle to its possessor. Upon a finding of no probable cause, towing and storage fees shall be paid by the City in accordance with arrangements made between the City and such garage. If the possessor fails to present such certificate to the garage having custody of the vehicle within twenty-four hours of its receipt, excluding such days when the garage is not open for business, the possessor shall assume liability for all subsequent storage charges. Such certificate shall advise the possessor of such requirements.
(d) Pending the outcome of the hearing provided in this section or a later hearing on the correctness of the impounding a bond may be posted by the person seeking possession of the vehicle in order to secure its release.