“Civil forfeiture lets the government seize and keep valuable property without ever convicting the owner of a crime or even filing criminal charges. And under federal law, innocent owners who want to reclaim their seized property must prove they weren’t involved in any wrongdoing, flipping the presumption of innocence straight on its head.” (Forbes)
You could be in an airport and flying to buy a car with cash. It’s a large amount and is labeled “suspicious.” That’s all they need to take your money.
To get it back, you have a long judicial process that may not work in your favor and it’s often more expensive than whatever it is the police stole because the above example, makes it somewhat bearable but they take smaller and smaller amounts and if you’re poor, you’re screwed.
It’s a terrible law with low standards that infringe on our Rights.
There was bipartisan work done on this, H.R.1525 - FAIR Act of 2023, but it hasn’t gone beyond introduction.
I’m not sure of the text because I haven’t read it but we should make something that raises the standard from “suspicion.” To take property, there needs to be a judicial process. Criminal activity needs to be proven.
Just an observation.