Civil forfeiture laws allow the government to take cash, cars, homes and other property suspected of being involved in criminal activity. Unlike criminal forfeiture, with civil forfeiture, the property owner doesn’t have to be charged with, let alone convicted of, a crime to permanently lose his property.
Once your property has been seized by the government there is a byzantine process to get it back. See the steps and pitfalls for navigating a federal forfeiture case in this comprehensive overview.
Civil forfeiture laws allow the government to take cash, cars, homes and other property suspected of being involved in criminal activity.
UPDATES
WASHINGTON—Today, Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) reintroduced an enhanced version of the Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration (FAIR) Act, H.R. 1525, which […]
ARLINGTON, Va.—The Pennsylvania Attorney General announced today that former Lancaster County Drug Task Force Detective John Burkhart pleaded guilty to the theft of approximately $171,000 […]
CARSON CITY, Nev.—Today the Nevada Supreme Court ruled that people may sue government officials for monetary damages when their rights under the Nevada Constitution have […]
ARLINGTON, Va.—Today, the Institute for Justice (IJ) submitted an amicus brief in the Lake County, Indiana, Superior Court calling for more transparency in how the […]
LOS ANGELES—US Private Vaults security deposit box owners represented by the Institute for Justice (IJ) will appeal a decision issued today blessing the FBI’s search […]
RICHMOND, Va.—Today, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an important civil forfeiture decision holding that the government cannot just assume that drivers found […]