In a New Survey, Victims of Philadelphia's Forfeiture Racket Highlight the Hazards of Giving Cops a License To Steal
"What they're doing is like robbery," observed one property owner.
Civil Asset Forfeiture
Although the State of Kansas Admits This Guy Is Innocent, It Still Wants To Destroy His 1959 Corvette
Richard Martinez lost his dream car because of VIN-plate issues prosecutors admit he was "not aware of."
Georgia Tax Crimes Unit Illegally Spent Asset Forfeiture Funds on Trinkets and Swag
A state watchdog concluded an office in the Georgia Department of Tax Revenue illegally kept $5 million in forfeiture funds and spent it partially on swag like sunglasses and engraved guns
Lawsuit Challenging Houston Asset Forfeiture Program Says Police Use Stock Language To Seize Cash Without Probable Cause
A couple claims the Harris County Sheriff's Office in Texas seized their life savings two years ago on suspicion of drug trafficking. A new lawsuit says they're not the only ones.
DEA Seizes Life Savings of New Orleans Grandfather Without Charging Him With a Crime
The case is the latest example of people who say their savings were seized in airports, despite it being perfectly legal to fly domestically with large amounts of cash.
A Massachusetts Commission Recommends Long-Overdue Reforms to the 'Worst Civil Forfeiture Laws in the Country'
The commission says the legislature should raise the standard of proof and remove the financial incentive that encourages cops and prosecutors to pursue profit instead of public safety.
Man Says Oklahoma Police Seized $140K From Him Without Cause
Canadian County Sheriff's deputies said Thai Nang's cash was drug money. He says he was buying land, and a local news outlet was easily able to find records backing his story up.
Maine Becomes 4th State To Repeal Civil Asset Forfeiture
A new law will require a criminal conviction before property can be seized.
Minnesota Poised to Pass Policing Bill That Would Restrict Asset Forfeiture and No-Knock Raids
The bill would limit petty seizures and require more reporting and oversight of no-knock raids.
The FBI Returned This Innocent Couple's Safe Deposit Box. It Refuses To Give Back Many Others—and Is Trying To Seize $85 Million in Cash.
"It makes me feel like the government is preying on the vulnerable and the weak to line their own pockets."
When Is a Civil Forfeiture Based on Drug Offenses Excessive? Always.
The question of proportionality assumes that punishment is appropriate for peaceful conduct that violates no one's rights.
Indiana Supreme Court Finally Puts an End to the Timbs Asset Forfeiture Case - "Reminiscent of Captain Ahab's Chase of the White Whale Moby Dick"
The case has generated three state supreme court decisions, plus a landmark ruling by the federal Supreme Court.
Indiana Said the Government Should Be Able To Take Everything You Own if You Commit a Drug Crime. The State Supreme Court Wasn't Having It.
After eight years, Tyson Timbs finally gets to keep his Land Rover—once and for all.
See the FBI Dig Through an Innocent Woman's Safe Deposit Box
In a lawsuit, attorneys for the box's owner allege that federal agents conducted an illegal search that may have resulted in the loss of some valuable gold coins.
Alabama Legislature Passes Modest Asset Forfeiture Reforms
A requirement that law enforcement obtain a conviction before it can forfeit property was stripped from the bill.
The Police Dog Who Cried Drugs at Every Traffic Stop
Cops laugh about “probable cause on four legs” but the damage to innocent lives is real.
Arizona's Newly Enacted Forfeiture Reforms Will Make It Harder for Cops To Steal Property
The new law requires a criminal conviction prior to civil forfeiture and beefs up due process protections for property owners.
Judges Stick Up for Asset Forfeiture Victim
When officers searched Jermaine Sanders' car, they found less than half an ounce of marijuana and seized $17,000 of his money.
Fight Crime by Ending Civil Asset Forfeiture
Even government officials can occasionally admit the need for limits to their thievery.
Arizona Legislature Passes Bill Requiring Convictions for Asset Forfeiture
If the governor signs the bill into law, Arizona will become the 16th state to require a conviction for asset forfeiture.
The Government Seized This Innocent Man's Car Without Due Process. SCOTUS Won't Hear the Case.
"How can an ordinary person afford to wait years after the government takes their car?"
Phoenix Police Seized $40K From Him at the Airport, but Never Charged Him With a Crime
Arizona passed a law raising the standard of evidence for asset forfeiture. That didn't help Jerry Johnson when Phoenix police seized his cash.
Ending Civil Asset Forfeiture Should Be a Bipartisan Project
Some states have taken action. It's time for the federal government to do the same.
Two California Cops Charged With Extorting Cash and Marijuana From Motorists
After news investigations uncovered numerous allegations that cops in a small California town were robbing motorists of cash and weed, two former officers are now facing federal charges.
After the Cops Seized Her Car, the Government Waited Five Years Before Giving Her a Chance To Get It Back
In Massachusetts, Malinda Harris argues, civil asset forfeiture routinely violates the right to due process.
Arizona Lawmakers to Cops: You Should Convict People Before You Take Their Stuff
Civil forfeiture reform failed last year. But now more legislators are on board.
Indiana Senate Passes Bill To Let Government Steal Stuff From People Suspected of 'Unlawful Assembly'
Vague laws are typically vague for a reason.
Civil Forfeiture Does Not Seem To Reduce Drug Use or Help Fight Crime
A new study provides further evidence that property seizures are driven by financial motives rather than public safety concerns.
Judge Threatens to Jail North Carolina Town Officials for Seizing Man's Money, Refusing To Return It
A misdemeanor marijuana charge leads to an attempt to take $17,000.
The Seemingly Interminable Saga of the Timbs Asset Forfeiture Case Continues
It went all the way to the US Supreme Court, and is now back in the Indiana state Supreme Court for the third time.
Indiana Argues That the State Should Be Able To Take Everything You Own if You Commit a Drug Crime
The state used civil asset forfeiture to seize Tyson Timbs' car in 2013. His nightmare hasn't ended.
States Are Finally Revoking Cops' License To Steal
A recent flurry of legislative activity suggests why forfeiture reform succeeds—and why it fails.
Justin Amash Introduces Bill To End Civil Asset Forfeiture Nationwide
The practice is plainly unconstitutional.
Obama Knocks 'Defund the Police' Activists for Valuing 'Feel Good' Sloganeering Over Practical Reforms
Efforts to push for substantial police reforms many people would support instead became a political battlefield.
This Forfeiture Victim Waited 2 Years Without a Hearing. Is That Due Process?
The Institute for Justice wants the Supreme Court to rule that the Fifth Amendment requires a prompt post-seizure hearing.
How to Beat Legalized Larceny
Government bullies empowered by civil forfeiture laws often back down, but only when their victims can afford a fight.
DEA to Return $43,000 It Seized From Tampa Woman at Airport
The DEA dropped its attempt to keep the money roughly two months after the woman joined a class-action lawsuit challenging cash seizures at airports.
Restrict Asset Forfeiture
It's time to do something about police seizures of property from innocent people.
Surveying the Federal Government's Kafkaesque System of Legalized Larceny, the 5th Circuit Sees No Due Process Problem
Gerardo Serrano, whose truck was seized over five forgotten handgun rounds, waited two years for a hearing he never actually got.
After the DEA Robbed Her of $43,000 at an Airport, She Joined a Class Action Challenging the Agency's Cash Grabs
The lawsuit argues that the DEA is violating the Fourth Amendment by seizing money from travelers without evidence of criminal activity.
Tucson Handyman Gets His Jeep Back After He Threatens to Fight the Forfeiture
The cops seized Kevin McBride's $15,000 car because his girlfriend allegedly used it for a $25 marijuana sale.
The Cops Took This Guy's $15,000 Jeep Because His Girlfriend Allegedly Used It for a $25 Marijuana Sale
Kevin McBride argues that Arizona's civil forfeiture law is unconstitutional.
The Cops Took This Guy's Car Because He Unwittingly Rented It to an Alleged Drug Dealer
Like other innocent owners, Manni Munir finds that fighting a civil forfeiture can cost more than the property is worth.
Homeland Security Seized $2 Billion in Cash From Travelers at U.S. Airports
In two-thirds of those cases, there were no accompanying arrests.
Rand Paul Tries (Again!) To Make It Harder for Police To Take Your Stuff
Federal civil asset forfeiture bill reintroduced as police reform efforts hit a partisan wall.
7 Race-Neutral Solutions to Racially Skewed Law Enforcement
These reforms would protect all Americans while reducing racial disparities in policing.
3 Libertarian Tips for the #DefundPolice Movement
Reducing law enforcement requires more than merely cutting and shifting a budget.
Lancaster County Drug Task Force 'Missing' $150K From Asset Forfeiture Fund
Would you be surprised if you learned the former district attorney was caught leasing an SUV with asset forfeiture funds?
