Small Heroin Sale Tees Up High Court Test of Forfeiture Laws

A challenge to a rare legal scenario in which a federally protected civil liberty has not yet been extended to apply to state law enforcement will be heard Nov. 28 by the U.S. Supreme Court in a case that started with a $260 heroin sale, the Indianapolis Star reports. So far, Indiana state courts have said their hands are tied until the nation’s high court rules that the 8th Amendment’s protection against excessive fines applies to civil asset forfeiture by state agencies.

The case started when a self-described “junkie,” Tyson Timbs, was driving his $42,000 Land Rover he bought with an inheritance when he was arrested for selling heroin to undercover officers. Timbs pleaded guilty and forfeited ownership of the vehicle, even though the maximum potential fine for his crime was $10,000, the Star reports. Timbs’ actual sentence was home detention, probation and court fees. The libertarian Institute for Justice took up Timbs’ case and attracted amicus brief support for its case from both the liberal American Civil Liberties Union and conservative United States Chamber of Commerce.

You might also like:
California Case Law on Asset Forfeiture: Key Precedents | What Happens If the Government Sells Seized Assets? | Data Center Cost Optimization Strategies: Balancing OPEX, CAPEX, and Performance | Guy describes the living nightmare of the US government trying to seize his family’s motel | Cross-Connect Agreements: Minimizing Risk & Ensuring Network Redundancy | What is Civil Forfeiture? | A new twist on asset forfeiture | The World of Civil Asset Forfeitures | News Paper Articles on Civil Asset Forfeiture Abuses | International Staffing: Cross-Border Employment Rules for Data Center Technicians | How to Avoid Losing Property to Civil Forfeiture | Criminal Justice Reform? We’re Making Progress | Warrant of Arrest in Rem | Carbon-Neutral Data Centers: Contracting Renewable Energy and Tracking Emissions | How Asset Forfeiture Drives the Police State | Frameworks & Accreditations: SOC 2, ISO 27001, and More | 21 U.S.C. § 881 FORFEITURES | Risk Management in Data Center Development: A Legal Perspective | Police Seize Car, Drive 56,000 Miles, Sell It Without Charging Owners With a Crime | FBI Uses “Cute” Propaganda Campaign to Justify Civil Asset Forfeiture | This Week’s Civil Forfeiture Outrage (Twelfth in a Series: Love Field Update) | Cyber Insurance for Data Centers: Risk Transfer and Coverage Essentials | What the President Should Do: Civil Asset Forfeiture (CATO Institute) | Data Center Mergers & Acquisitions: Post-Transaction Integration & Liabilities