Via The Crime Report:
Since 2000, authorities have accumulated $69 billion in forfeiture revenue, according to an Institute for Justice report.
Several prominent cases have demonstrated the failure of civil asset forfeiture. In 2019, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) seized $82,000 from Rebecca Brown — her father Terry Rolin’s life savings — at an airport as she was bringing the money to Boston to open a joint bank account. Working with pro bono lawyers and filing a class action lawsuit against the government, Brown and Rolin recovered the money six months later, reports The Washington Post.
Three dozen states have passed laws limiting the scope of civil asset forfeiture. New Mexico requires conviction before officers permanently take money or property and mandates all proceeds go into the state’s general treasury rather than directly to police, reports Forbes.
Maine became the fourth state to abolish civil forfeiture this week, authorizing forfeiture only after a criminal conviction, reports Forbes.
“Forfeiture is one more reason many law-abiding citizens fear and distrust law enforcement.”