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
The Texas House of Representatives has passed HB 2992―a bill that increases transparency of property seizures, forfeitures, and expenditures of proceeds under state and federal forfeiture laws. […]
WASHINGTON—Fifteen influential nonprofit organizations from across the ideological spectrum sent a coalition letter calling on House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Ranking Member […]
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Justice announced new contracts to help its law enforcement agencies manage asset forfeiture investigations. The awards, to multiple private companies, total […]
Today, the Institute for Justice (IJ) announced that it will ask the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for a rehearing following its dismissal of […]
ARLINGTON, Va.—Yesterday, the Institute for Justice (IJ) submitted an amicus brief in the Georgia Supreme Court, urging the court to grant review and reverse a […]
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Supreme Court today announced that it will consider Culley v. Attorney General of Alabama, a case concerning whether someone whose property is seized […]