By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services via Arizona Daily Sun
A new challenge has been mounted contesting the legality of Arizona laws that allow police and prosecutors to seize property without proving to a judge it was used for a criminal purpose.
The Institute for Justice is asking a Navajo County Superior Court judge to declare the state’s civil forfeiture statutes unconstitutional. Attorney Paul Avelar contends the laws provide an illegal profit motive for government agencies to take someone else’s property without good reason.
Avelar said the law is also flawed in that it forces someone who’s property has been seized to have to spend money just to get into court to try to get it back. Worse yet, he said the statute is worded in a way to chill any such challenge by potentially making the property owner liable for the government’s legal fees.
