Police keep taking more and more stuff from people without charging them for crimes
Over the past several years, law enforcement officials have seized and kept more and more of people’s property — without ever needing to prove that these people were involved in any crime. Those were the findings of a new report by the Institute for Justice, which found that police have made greater use of federal […]
How States Are Using the Courts to Fight Police Taking People’s Money and Property
From coast to coast, states are tackling legislation that would protect property owners from abuses of a system that has become known as policing for profit. Some of the states have seen success with that strategy. But opponents of the tool known as civil asset forfeiture are also taking their battles to federal courtrooms. Last […]
Civil Asset Forfeiture: Grading the States
Civil asset forfeiture is a unique area of law in which the government charges specific property of being guilty of wrongdoing, rather than a person. Perhaps because the property is accused of wrongdoing, and not the person, governments often place lower standards of proof needed to forfeit the property. The procedures used by the federal […]
Legislation on the move in California to protect innocent property owners from abuse of civil asset forfeiture
The California Senate considered a bill on Wednesday that would close a big loophole in the state’s civil asset forfeiture laws that currently permits state and local law enforcement to use federal statutes to go after property believed to be connected to illicit activity. A rarity in the states, California provides innocent property owners with […]
Police seize property and cash in questionable raids
Michigan laws allow police to seize assets even when no criminal charges are filed. Study says Michigan is among the worst in protecting citizens from unlawful seizures by police. Police defend seizing homes%2C cash%2C cars%2C insist forfeitures help fight crime%2C stop drug trafficking. State%2C federal lawmakers introducing new bills to curb %22abusive%22 property seizures by […]
Rand Paul: How feds can legally steal your money
Editor’s Note: Rand Paul, a Republican, is a U.S. senator from Kentucky. Tim Walberg, a Republican, is a U.S. representative from Michigan. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the authors. CNN — There are many reasons why the Internal Revenue Service is perhaps the least-loved agency in America – a tax […]
Property Seized, Money Taken – But No Crime
Editor’s Note: One of the gentleman, Wally Kowalski, was arrested and charged hours after this story ran. The unedited piece is below. Wladyslaw “Wally” Kowalski is a Ph.D. design engineer who lives in Van Buren County. In September, Kowalski came home to find his residence surrounded by police armed with a warrant. Officers searched the […]
Dirty money: How asset forfeiture is returning billions to the federal coffers
It’s like an unforgettable scene from the television crime drama, Miami Vice — Detectives Rico Tubbs and Sonny Crockett pursue some of the biggest drug dealers and smugglers from around the world. Except it’s not the 1980s. Criminals are now more sophisticated with their crime rings, and it takes more than one unit to bring […]
Taken
On a bright Thursday afternoon in 2007, Jennifer Boatright, a waitress at a Houston bar-and-grill, drove with her two young sons and her boyfriend, Ron Henderson, on U.S. 59 toward Linden, Henderson’s home town, near the Texas-Louisiana border. They made the trip every April, at the first signs of spring, to walk the local wildflower […]
Criminal Justice Reform? We’re Making Progress
If you had asked your legislator last year about their stance on civil asset forfeiture, jail food, or marijuana reclassification you would likely have heard confusion about the first two and opposition to the third. That’s no longer the case. While our legislation to end civil asset forfeiture, stop sheriffs from personally profiting from money […]
Michigan Man Cleared of Wrongdoing, Still Fighting Civil Forfeiture Years Later
This article was originally published by the Institute for Justice. To see more Michigan-specific work on forfeiture, please visit www.mackinac.org/forfeiture. Crime doesn’t pay, but being innocent in the wrong place can cost you big time under Michigan’s civil forfeiture laws. The sheriff’s department of Oakland County, Michigan (in suburban Detroit) froze more than $10,000 in […]
No Arrest — But Cops Took And Kept His $2,035 Anyway
Your assets are presumed guilty in Michigan; legislation would change that By Evan Carter | November 24, 2017Share on FacebookShare on X In May 2016, two Michigan State Police troopers conducted a traffic stop in Flint when they suspected a man had made a drug-related transaction at a nearby McDonalds. After searching his SUV and […]
Civil asset forfeiture is a dangerous tool
South Africa’s civil forfeiture law is based on American law with a long history going back to feudal times, and even earlier. Then, as now, it is easily abused to seize assets from suspects who prove to be innocent, for the enrichment of the state. It should have long gone the way of absolute monarchs. […]
Sessions Creates DOJ Asset Forfeiture Watchdog
Attorney General Jeff Sessions is setting up a unit to oversee a policy he reinstated to help state and local police take cash and property from people suspected of a crime, even if they have not been charged, reports the Washington Post. Sessions came under fire from members of Congress when he announced the policy […]
Yes, the government can steal your stuff
Authorities don’t need a conviction or even for a suspect to be charged before seizing a car, cash or a house By NORA V. DEMLEITNER PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 25, 2017 3:58AM (EDT) (Getty/amphotora) (Getty/amphotora) Facebook 196 Twitter Reddit Email save This article was originally published on The Conversation. Editor’s note: Should someone wearing a badge have […]
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