Public defender in criminal prosecution assigned to civil forfeiture litigation, and civil forfeiture litigation styed until after criminal prosecution.

HF 3329 requires that if a defendant has a public defender or court-appointed attorney in a criminal case, that same attorney must represent the defendant's property in related civil forfeiture litigation. The bill mandates that civil forfeiture cases must be paused ("stayed") until after the criminal case concludes. Defendants have up to 90 days after the criminal conviction to respond to the civil forfeiture complaint, and failure to respond before conviction does not automatically result in a default. This applies directly to individuals facing both criminal charges and civil forfeiture of property under Minnesota Statutes § 609.531, subdivision 6a.