Reptile Is a Gloomy Cop Thriller About Law Enforcement Self-Dealing
With subplots about bite mark evidence and asset forfeiture, it's a parade of shady cop practices.
Civil Asset Forfeiture
Weed Is Legal in Illinois. Police Searched His Car Anyway.
An officer conducted the search of Prentiss Jackson's vehicle after claiming he could smell "a little bit of weed." It ultimately resulted in a lengthy prison term.
Federal Appeals Court Rules Detroit's Asset Forfeiture Violates Due Process Rights of Drivers
A federal circuit judge writes that Detroit's vehicle seizure scheme "is simply a money-making venture—one most often used to extort money from those who can least afford it."
Sixth Circuit Rules Owners of Cars Taken by Asset Forfeiture Have Constitutional Right to a Hearing Within Two Weeks of Seizure
The decision provides important protection for property rights, and features a powerful concurring opinion by prominent conservative Judge Amal Thapar.
Appeals Court Rules Woman Who Had $8,000 Seized Through Asset Forfeiture Will Get Her Day in Court
Cristal Starling lost $8,000 after she missed one of several filing deadlines to contest the seizure of her money by police. A federal appeals court says she and others like her should be given more leeway.
Police Seized Innocent People's Property and Kept It for Years. What Will the Supreme Court Do?
Civil forfeiture is a highly unaccountable practice. The justices have the opportunity to make it a bit less so.
Congress Considers Bipartisan Bill Curbing Asset Forfeiture
The FAIR Act would be a significant step forward. It just passed the House Judiciary Committee on a unanimous 26-0 vote.
Congress Considers Conditions on the Government's License To Steal
The FAIR Act includes several substantial reforms that would make it harder to take property from innocent owners through civil forfeiture.
Even After Legalization, Maryland Cops Wanted to Search People Based on the Odor of Pot. Legislators Said No.
Police have a long history of using the real or imagined smell of marijuana to justify outrageous invasions.
Congress Tries Again To Reform Civil Asset Forfeiture Abuses
Just about everybody agrees the practice is legalized theft, but cops and prosecutors oppose change.
Coverage of Alabama Town's Predatory Fines and Seizures Earns Journalists a Pulitzer
The Brookside Police Department’s shakedown of travelers became a national news story and prompted federal lawsuits.
Supreme Court Decides to Hear Important Asset Forfeiture Procedural Property Rights Case
The Court will determine whether the Due Process Clause prevents the government from using asset forfeiture to seize property and hold it for many months without a timely hearing.
The Supreme Court Will Decide Whether You Have a Right to a Prompt Hearing After Cops Seize Your Property
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear two consolidated cases by Alabama women whose cars were both seized for more than a year before courts found they were innocent owners.
New York City Brings Back Dystopian Robot Police Dogs
'Digidog is out of the pound," New York City Mayor Eric Adams declared, not ominously.
Arizona Returns $39,000 Seized From Man at Phoenix Airport Through Civil Asset Forfeiture
Police detectives accused Jerry Johnson of being a drug trafficker and seized cash he says he intended to use to buy a semitruck at auction. He was never charged with a crime.
Lawsuit: Prosecutors Filed Bogus Charges Against Detroit Man in Retaliation for Challenging Seizure of Car
The Institute for Justice says Robert Reeves' First Amendment rights were violated when prosecutors filed and refiled baseless felony charges against him after he sued to get his car back.
Sheriff's Employee Embezzled Funds in Keeping with the Spirit of Civil Asset Forfeiture
One guy with gambling debts is a news story, but a formal policy of legalized theft is a national scandal.
Cops Return Cash Seized From Afroman in Bogus Drug Raid…With $400 Missing
Plus: What's going on with Iran's morality police? Two more days to give to Reason's 2022 webathon, and more...
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These Sisters Tried To Start a Business. Police Seized Their Cash and Accused Them of Being Drug Traffickers
California police seized more than $17,000 from Vera and Apollonia Ward and accused them of laundering drug money, all without charging them with a crime. The two sisters were trying to start a dog-breeding business.
Houston Prosecutors Are Keeping Cash Seized From Defendants Whose Cases Were Compromised by Police Corruption
Even in cases that hinged on the trustworthiness of demonstrably untrustworthy cops, people are still waiting to get their money back.
After Supreme Court Ruling, States Grapple With How To Define an Excessive Fine
The Supreme Court's 2018 ruling in Timbs v. Indiana revived the Excessive Fines Clause. Now state courts have to come up with tests to determine what's excessive.
Federal Judge Decides Safe Deposit Boxes Aren't Safe From FBI
Judge Gary Klausner admits that the FBI probably hid their true motives in rifling through the contents of hundreds of safe deposit boxes, but says that's fine.
Michigan Rolls Back Reforms of Civil Asset Forfeiture
Michigan is now a more dangerous place for anyone who flies with large amounts of cash.
A Mom Let Her 7-Year-Old Play in the Park. Arizona Arrested Her and Banned Her From Working With Kids.
Sarra's name was added to the government's official list of unfit caretakers after she briefly ran an errand without her kids in tow.
Prosecutors Who Want Credit for Investigating Police Corruption Are Happy To Steal Money From Innocent People
The Harris County, Texas, District Attorney's Office oversees civil forfeitures that make a mockery of justice.
Kansas Seized $21 Million From People Over the Past Two Years. Most Were Never Convicted of a Crime
An Americans for Prosperity Foundation report found that less than a quarter of people who had property seized through asset forfeiture by Kansas police were ever convicted of a crime.
To Promote Public Safety, Michigan Authorizes Cops To Rob Travelers at Airports
The change represents a substantial reversal of civil forfeiture reforms aimed at protecting innocent property owners.
Michigan Couple Says Town Seized Their Building and Offered To Return It if They Bought Two Cars for Police
"Extortion, there's no other way to explain it," the couple's attorney says.
IRS Stole Money and Hid the Details for Years
As law enforcement agencies patrol for profit, the secrecy surrounding cash seizures must stop.
Sheriff Agrees To Stop Stealing Cannabis Cash From Armored Cars, Saying His Deputies 'Are Not Highway Robbers'
The settlement came after the Justice Department agreed to return more than $1 million in proceeds from state-licensed marijuana businesses in California.
The Feds Will Return More Than $1 Million in Marijuana Money That California Cops Stole From Armored Cars
Empyreal Logistics agreed to drop its claims against the Justice Department, but it is still suing San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus.
Officials Seizing Russian Yachts Now May Steal Americans' Property in the Future
Going after oligarchs breathes new life into sketchy asset forfeiture powers.
Cops Seized $8,000 From Her and Never Charged Her With a Crime
After Rochester police took her cash, Cristal Starling found out just how hard it is to challenge civil asset forfeiture in court.
Police Seized Almost $10,000 From Him. A Court Ruled He Had No Right to an Attorney.
Terry Abbott couldn't afford representation, because the state took the cash he'd use to pay for it.
Snitches Get Riches From the FBI
Turning in your innocent friends and neighbors for having large amounts of cash is touted as a new source of income by the FBI.
A 93-Year-Old Woman Couldn't Pay Her $2,300 Tax Bill. The Government Sold Her Home and Kept the Money.
"This is very bad for property rights."
Man Receives 3 Years in Federal Prison for Using COVID Relief Funds on a Pokémon Card
The punishment is a bit rich considering the government's own mishandling of pandemic cash.
Prosecutor Extorts $300,000 Out of Alleged Drug Dealer by Threatening His Entire Family With Charges
Patrick Card's story is a case study in how the state uses civil forfeiture to try to coerce plea bargains.
Kansas House Considers Major Asset Forfeiture Reforms
A new bill in Kansas seeks to make it harder for cops to seize assets without a criminal conviction.
The FBI Seized Almost $1 Million From This Family—and Never Charged Them With a Crime
"It's completely changed my belief in fairness," says Amy Sterner Nelson.
Dallas Police Seized an Airline Passenger's Cash. New Information Only Makes Their Case Weaker.
Police seized more than $100,000 in cash from a 25-year-old Chicago woman for not correctly describing what her suitcase looked like.
How California Deputies Became Highway Robbers
San Bernardino County deputies stopped the same armored-car driver twice and took nearly $1.1 million in cash owned by legal marijuana dispensaries.
