California Takes On Civil Forfeiture

I have previously posted about the unbelievable level of abuse of civil forfeiture laws, especially in poor and minority communities. Now, at least, one state may be trying to put a stop to these abuses. Under federal law, police can keep up to 80% of the profits from seizures, without even having to arrest or charge an individual with a crime. Because state forfeiture law in California offers more protections for citizens, police actually have an financial incentive to use federal law instead of state law. An ACLU study in that state showed that 85% of forfeiture gains come from communities of color; half of DEA seizures involve people with Latino surnames; and communities with higher seizure rates have lower median income. This has prompted a bill that prohibits California police from seizing an individual’s assets if the person has not been convicted of a crime. The bill passed the California State Assembly and is now on its way to be considered by the State Senate, where it hopefully will be passed and signed into law. Civil forfeiture should NEVER be legal if the citizen has not been convicted of a crime.