Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Alabama bill to abolish civil forfeiture introduced

New Alabama Bill Would Abolish Civil Forfeiture, Require Convictions To Confiscate Property - Nick Sibilla, Institute for Justice, Forbes:

January 24, 2018 - "Alabama could soon blaze a trail for civil rights. On Tuesday, Alabama Republicans Sen. Arthur Orr and Rep. Arnold Mooney filed the Forfeiture Accountability and Integrity Reform (FAIR) Act that would abolish civil forfeiture throughout the state and replace it with criminal forfeiture.... If the FAIR Act (SB 213) becomes law, Alabama would be just the fourth state to eliminate civil forfeiture, following the lead of Nebraska, New Mexico and North Carolina. In addition, the bill takes direct aim at a federal forfeiture program that was revitalized by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who previously represented the state as U.S. Senator....

"The state is in dire need of drastic reform. One study by the Institute for Justice ranked Alabama’s civil forfeiture laws as “among the worst in the nation'.... Unlike criminal cases, which require proof 'beyond a reasonable doubt,' Alabama prosecutors only have to make their case to the court’s 'reasonable satisfaction' to forfeit property in civil court....

"[A]n in-depth report released Tuesday by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and Alabama Appleseed Center for Law & Justice ... examined over 1,110 forfeiture cases in 14 counties, or 70 percent of all civil forfeiture cases filed statewide in 2015. In 25 percent of those cases, the state never filed criminal charges against the property owner.... Half of the forfeiture cases involved cash under $1,372.... Since the cost of hiring a lawyer is typically greater than what the seized property is actually worth, owners have little choice but to walk away.

"In Alabama, prosecutors mainly file civil forfeiture complaints to carry out the drug war. Out of all forfeiture proceedings filed in 2015, more than 40 percent related to marijuana offenses.... But plenty of other offenses could trigger government confiscation too, including gambling, the distribution of 'prohibited liquors and beverages,' 'illegal nighttime deer hunting,” and, most bizarre of all, 'bear wrestling'....

"Thanks to Alabama’s rigged civil forfeiture system, police and prosecutors collected nearly $2.2 million under state forfeiture law in 2015. Perversely, the state even allows agencies to keep up to 100 percent of the proceeds from forfeiture....

"The bill sponsored by Orr and Mooney would abolish civil forfeiture altogether and replace it with criminal forfeiture. Under this proposal, the government could only confiscate property after a felony conviction or plea deal, unless the owner died, was deported or fled after being arrested and released on bail. The bill would also strengthen due process ... by raising the standard of proof to 'clear and convincing evidence' and by shifting the burden of proof onto the state, which would restore the presumption of innocence for forfeiture cases."

Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/instituteforjustice/2018/01/24/new-alabama-bill-would-abolish-civil-forfeiture-require-convictions-to-confiscate-property/
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