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Title: Connecticut Just Banned Civil Forfeiture Without A Criminal Conviction
Source:
Forbes
URL Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/instit ... without-a-criminal-conviction/
Published: Jul 15, 2017
Author: Nick Sibilla
Post Date: 2017-07-15 06:50:53 by Tooconservative
Keywords: None
Views: 5975
Comments: 17
Under the new law, in order to permanently confiscate property with civil forfeiture, the property must be first seized in connection to either a lawful arrest or a lawful search that results in an arrest. If prosecutors do not secure a guilty verdict, a plea bargain or a dismissal from finishing a pretrial diversion program, the government must return the property to its rightful owner. With the stroke of a pen, Connecticut now becomes the 14th state to require a criminal conviction for most or all forfeiture cases. “Civil forfeiture is one of the most serious assaults on Americans’ private property rights,” Institute for Justice Senior Legislative Counsel Lee McGrath said. “The bill is a solid first step to ensure that innocent people do not lose their property to this use of 17th Century admiralty law applied to the 21st Century war on drugs.” According to data obtained by the Institute for Justice and the Reason Foundation, police and prosecutors generated more than $17.8 million in forfeiture revenue from 2009 to 2016. Nearly two-thirds of those proceeds came from civil forfeiture cases, where the owner did not have to be convicted. Law enforcement predominantly confiscated cash, but also seized dirt bikes, gold chains, and electronics like iPads, TVs and cell phones. Although civil forfeiture is often defended as a way to stop large-scale drug cartels and criminal enterprises, in Connecticut, half of all civil forfeitures were under $570 in 2016. These small amounts suggest that many victims don’t have the means to fight back against a seizure in court. The state’s conviction requirement should protect many innocent Connecticutians. But even with the new safeguard, there are several glaring defects in Connecticut’s forfeiture laws. For starters, the state still allows police and prosecutors to collect 69.5 percent of the proceeds from forfeited property. That provides a strong incentive to seek cases with a hefty payout. Moreover, Connecticut agencies can spend forfeiture money without any public oversight or accounting, leaving both the public and lawmakers (who are supposed to control the power of the purse) completely in the dark. And unlike recent reforms in seven states, the bill does not address the federal equitable sharing program, which has long acted as a loophole to bypass state reforms. To curb the temptation to police for profit, lawmakers should look to Maine, which sends forfeiture proceeds away from police coffers and towards the general fund. And to hold law enforcement accountable, Connecticut should copy recent reforms enacted in Arizona and Colorado, which force agencies to detail their forfeiture expenditures, including for salaries, overtime, travel, victim compensation, and drug treatment. Both states also mandate regular audits of forfeiture accounts and penalize noncompliant agencies. Nevertheless, Connecticut’s new reform is an important step to curtail an constitutionally problematic practice. With the governor’s signature, Connecticut joins a growing, nationwide movement that has emerged in recent years to protect property rights from abusive seizures. Since 2014, the Constitution State is the 10th state to enact a conviction safeguard and the 24th state that tightened its forfeiture laws. “No one should lose their property unless they are first convicted of a crime,” McGrath added. “Along with our bipartisan coalition partners at the ACLU of Connecticut and the Yankee Institute for Public Policy, we will keep fighting until civil forfeiture in Connecticut is abolished, once and for all.” Poster Comment: "With the stroke of a pen, Connecticut now becomes the 14th state to require a criminal conviction for most or all forfeiture cases." 
Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy signed HB 7146 on Monday, which curbs the state’s civil forfeiture laws. Not only did the bill earn endorsements from the Yankee Institute for the Public Policy and the state chapter of the ACLU, HB 7146 even passed both the House and the Senate without a single no vote.
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#1. To: Tooconservative (#0)
As it should be.
#2. To: A K A Stone (#1)
(Edited)
If only they had had the guts to do as NM did and ban it altogether. Maine also did better in that they put all forfeitures in the state's general fund, eliminating the profit motive for police to keep the funds they seize. Still, this is a step forward. Hopefully, they will make these protections against extra-judicial seizures stronger.
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Replies to Comment # 1. “No one should lose their property unless they are first convicted of a crime,” McGrath added. “Along with our bipartisan coalition partners at the ACLU of Connecticut and the Yankee Institute for Public Policy, we will keep fighting until civil forfeiture in Connecticut is abolished, once and for all.”
A state as rich as Connecticut should hang their heads in shame at allowing the practice in any form without a related conviction.
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