A year ago the Justice Department suspended the DEA's airport interdiction program because of significant legal risks. The DHS is still using the same tactics.
ICE and Border Patrol are using license plate cameras for extensive domestic surveillance.
Alaska has been trying to seize Ken Jouppi's Cessna for 13 years over a misdemeanor crime.
A recent federal appeals court decision underlines the importance of that safeguard.
The twist underscores just how little accountability exists in civil forfeiture, which allows law enforcement to seize assets without charging the owner with a crime.
City Journal's Rafael Mangual and Charles Fain Lehman debate Reason's Billy Binion and Jacob Sullum on legalizing all drugs.
It’s time for the rest of the state to stop illegal searches and seizures that enrich police departments.
Law enforcement seized Robert Reeves' Chevrolet Camaro without charging him with a crime. After he filed a class-action lawsuit, that changed.
State investigators say millions went missing from two narcotics funds controlled by former Hialeah Police Chief Sergio Velazquez, including seized cash from drug investigations.
Spencer Byrd's case helped spark reforms and a federal lawsuit, but he died before seeing justice.
Linda Martin's lawsuit alleges that the agency violated her right to due process when it took her $40,200 and sent her a notice failing to articulate the reason.
Civil forfeiture allows the government of Hawaii to take your property and sell it for profit without proving you did anything wrong.
The Justice Department temporarily suspended the program in November because of "significant risks" of constitutional violations.
The Nevada Highway Patrol exceeded its legal authority when it seized nearly $90,000 in cash from Stephen Lara in 2023 and then handed the case to the DEA.
Your donations make it easier for us publicize so very many cases of outrageous injustice
A class action lawsuit claims Indianapolis law enforcement is using civil asset forfeiture to seize millions in cash from packages routed through a major FedEx hub, without notifying the owners of what crime they're suspected of committing.
The DEA paid one airline employee tens of thousands of dollars to snoop on travel itineraries and flag passengers for searches.
Netflix's Rebel Ridge is a thrilling tale about an ordinary man wronged by an unjust system.
For more than three decades, the Institute for Justice has shown that economic freedom and private property are essential safeguards for ordinary Americans.
The outrageous seizure at the center of Rebel Ridge resembles real-life cash grabs.
Writer-director Jeremy Saulnier's movie is the rarest of things: a taut, tense thriller about...public policy.
The Institute for Justice says Indianapolis police and prosecutors are exploiting one of the biggest FedEx hubs in the U.S. to seize cash for alleged crimes they never explain.
South Carolina's Operation Rolling Thunder targets cash and contraband but harasses guilty and innocent travelers alike.
The explosions may be fake, but the nightmare scenario is ripped from the headlines.
An uneven playing field allows the aggressive tactics and legal loopholes that turn traffic stops into cash grabs.
Routine searches of commercial buses violate privacy, target low-income passengers, and result in widespread violations.
No arrest necessary as South Carolina police hunt for cash
A 21-month legal battle unveils the dark side of South Carolina's annual traffic crackdown.
The ruling is the second recent court decision that has curbed Detroit's aggressive vehicle forfeiture program.
The MAGA movement has suddenly discovered the evils of politicized prosecutions, inequities in the justice system, and fear of police abuse.
But Justice Neil Gorsuch's concurring opinion suggests the Court may curb asset forfeiture in the future.
The cars of two Alabama women were seized for more than a year before courts found they were innocent owners. The Supreme Court says they had no constitutional right to a preliminary hearing.
David Knott helps clients retrieve unclaimed property from the government. The state has made it considerably harder for him to do that.
Kansas had among the most lax civil asset forfeiture laws in the country, but a bill sent to the governor's desk would strengthen protections for property owners.
Dewonna Goodridge quickly discovered that Kansas civil asset forfeiture laws were stacked against her when sheriff's deputies seized her truck.
Amid fear of rising crime, let's take a careful and deliberate approach—lest innocent people lose their rights and property.
Plus: A listener asks if the editors have criteria for what constitutes a good law.
Unfortunately, Willis’s Fulton County includes assets seized from non-prosecutors in its budget.
Greg and Teresa Almond lost their house and livelihood over a misdemeanor drug crime. Sheriff's deputies never got a warrant to search their house.
A federal judge allowed a lawsuit against the officers to proceed, finding evidence of several constitutional violations.
"It's crazy to me that somebody can be pulled over and have their cash and truck taken for an alleged crime, get acquitted of that crime, but they still never get their property back," Stitt said.
"You've got to be able to demonstrate some level of legitimacy" the head of the National Sheriffs' Association says of carrying large amounts of cash.
On Thursday, a federal appeals court will hear about the FBI's "blatant scheme to circumvent" the Fourth Amendment.
Yet another reason to donate to Reason's annual webathon!
Wayne County was seizing cars and using its less-fortunate residents as piggy banks.
That prosecutors in the Hoosier State successfully denied people this due process is a reflection of how abusive civil forfeiture can be.
Without a prompt post-seizure hearing, people can lose their property for months or years even when they ultimately get it back.
The outrageous case has led to calls from Congress to pass legislation curbing civil asset forfeiture.
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