Conservatives and liberals are teaming up to restrict or ban the laws that let officers seize billions of dollars a year from people who haven’t been convicted or, sometimes, even charged with a crime.
By Alan Greenblatt | Governing
You may not realize it, but in most parts of the country law enforcement officers have the legal right to stop you and demand any cash you might have on hand, threatening arrest if you fail to turn it over, even if there’s no evidence you have done anything illegal.
That’s what’s known as civil forfeiture. It’s unpopular just about everywhere, and roughly a dozen states have passed new laws over the past couple of years to curb it. “Once you understand civil forfeiture and how it actually works, it’s horrifying,” says Maryland state Sen. Michael Hough. “It completely robs people of their due process rights.”
