An editorial from the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Police and prosecutors have been too happy to trample the rights of law-abiding Americans by abusing the asset forfeiture process. But Nevada authorities’ zeal to steal from unsuspecting citizens for their agencies’ gain compelled them in at least one instance to abuse the justice system ... MORE
by Scott Shackford. Why most don't bother to try. The Heritage Foundation, as part of a multipartisan effort to help educate Americans about our abuse-prone police civil asset forfeiture system, has produced a lovely pamphlet explaining how the whole racket works, complete with an illustrated story. Reason, along with the American Civil Liberties ... MORE
by Marc A. Scaringi. In Philadelphia, authorities forcibly seize a family's home and evict a mother and father after their teenage son is accused of selling $40 worth of drugs outside the home. Similarly, a woman, who is disabled and caring for her three children, brother and sister, is threatened with the loss of her home after her ... MORE
(Spoiler: Chances are they’re probably awful.) The liberty-loving activists at FreedomWorks has produced a useful tool to examine the quality of civil asset forfeiture laws (the rules that allow police to seize and often keep money and property from busts) across the states. They've put together a new map that grades each state and ... MORE
Government's license to steal. The presumption of innocence is a fundamental principle of the American legal system. When someone is accused of a crime, the burden is rightfully on the government to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt before a punishment is meted out. But another area of the law, known as civil asset forfeiture, allows ... MORE
by Jacob Sullum. Michigan legislators consider forfeiture reform. When the cops raided Ginnifer Hency's home in Smiths Creek, Michigan,
in July, "they took everything," she told state legislators last
Tuesday, including TV sets, ladders, her children's cellphones and
iPads, even her vibrator. They found six ounces of marijuana and
arrested Hency for possession ... MORE
by Matt Vespa. Welcome to the upside down world of civil asset forfeiture. On Monday, FreedomWorks and the Center for American Progress (CAP) joined forces to invite bloggers, writers, and some think-tank analysts for a daylong conference on justice reform. One of the aspects I liked about the conference is that it shows on some ... MORE
The government's highwaymen. Joseph Rivers left his hometown of Romulus, Michigan, boarded a train, and headed for Los Angeles, California, where he hoped to become a music-video producer. The 22-year-old says he’d been saving money for years to make the trip and that his mother had scraped together some additional cash to help ... MORE
by Ray Stern. For a narco cop, freedom is bad for business. A law-enforcement task force in Yavapai County cut a $50,000 check from RICO funds to a substance-abuse group dedicated to fighting marijuana legalization in Arizona, New Times has learned. The deal between the Yavapai County-based Partners Against Narcotics Trafficking ... MORE
by Joline Gutierrez Krueger. Public servants with a license to steal. Maybe he should have taken traveler’s checks. But it’s too late for that now. All the money – $16,000 in cash – that Joseph Rivers said he had saved and relatives had given him to launch his dream in Hollywood is gone, seized during his trip out West not by thieves but by drug ... MORE
by M. David and Reagan Ali. Some thieves carry badges. They found no drugs on him whatsoever. They never saw him selling drugs or committing a crime of any sort. But the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) claims that they are “certain” that 22-year-old Joseph Rivers is a “drug dealer.” What makes them so sure? When the young ... MORE
Momentum for reform accelerates. Civil asset forfeiture laws allow the government to seize and keep cash, cars, real estate, and any other property – even from citizens never charged with or convicted of a crime. Because these assets often go straight into the coffers of the enforcement agency, these laws have led to a perversion of police priorities, ... MORE
by Jacob Gershman. Georgia lawmakers are set to vote on legislation
intended to rein in the state’s civil forfeiture procedures, part of a
national push for more scrutiny and limits on asset-seizure programs
that law enforcement officials say help curb drug crimes but critics say
are prone to abuse. The Republican-led Senate in Georgia could ... MORE