Slate Magazine: Take the Money and Run, The crazy perversities of civil asset forfeiture

Posted on February 7, 2010
Filed Under Critical Issues | 1 Comment

Civil asset forfeiture, an outgrowth of the drug war, rests on the legal theory that property can be guilty of a crime. Once authorities establish a nexus between a piece of property and criminal activity—most commonly drug cases, but also prostitution, DWI, and white collar crime—the owner must prove his innocence or lose his property, even if he’s never charged with an underlying crime. In most jurisdictions, seized cash and the proceeds from the auctioned property go back to the police departments and prosecutors’ offices responsible for the seizure. The scheme, which creates unsavory incentives for public officials, became popular because of a 1984 federal bill designed to encourage aggressive enforcement.

Read Full Article Here: The crazy perversities of civil asset forfeiture. – By Radley Balko – Slate Magazine.

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