Civil forfeiture expanded

[littleman]

Re Sessions:
http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/will_bunch/americas-top-lawman-lied-under-oath-can-we-seize-his-stuff-20170724.html

America's top lawman lied under oath. Can we seize his stuff?

[rcjordan]

Illinois reforms civil asset forfeiture

https://www.illinoispolicy.org/rauner-signs-civil-asset-forfeiture-reform-into-law/

[rcjordan]

Congress is finally working to defund civil asset forfeiture

http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/civil-rights/348890-congress-is-finally-working-to-defund-civil-asset-forfeiture

[littleman]

Every photo of Sessions makes him look like he's three feet tall.

There was a viral video last week of a guy working a hotdog stand who had the money in his wallet ($60) seized by a UC Berkeley police officer because he was working without a permit.  This probably wasn't legal under SB-443.

[Drastic]

Let's see if this passes.

>Every photo of Sessions makes him look like he's three feet tall.

That must be by design. That creatively cropped shot is very Smeagle-ish.

[littleman]

>Smeagle-ish

+ a little Alfred E. Neuman

He's 5'4" apparently

[rcjordan]

Better call Vox.

Wyoming police took an innocent man's $91,800. After a Vox report, he will get it back.
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/12/1/16726084/phil-parhamovich-cash-wyoming-civil-forfeiture

[littleman]

Might be a turning point.

Civil asset forfeiture reform is sweeping the nation

[rcjordan]

Alabama civil asset forfeiture reform calls for transparency

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/mar/17/alabama-civil-asset-forfeiture-reform-calls-for-tr/

[littleman]

More movement in the right direction:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/04/05/in-wisconsin-authorities-now-have-to-convict-you-of-a-crime-before-they-can-take-your-cash/

[rcjordan]

Utah Police Seized $2.2M in Cash Under Civil Forfeiture Law

In addition to the cash, police also seized an additional $401,000 worth of property

In addition to the money seized by state officials, Utah agencies also received $1.1 million from federal agencies that seized property from people in the state

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/utah/articles/2018-07-05/utah-police-seized-22m-in-cash-under-civil-forfeiture-law

[rcjordan]

Greenville SC:  Police seize $17M in 3 years; blacks targeted most | Miami Herald
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/national-politics/article225449055.html#storylink=rss

[Drastic]

SC has some good experience here. Misleading headline:

https://www.wspa.com/news/sc-town-seized-135-for-each-person-from-traffic-stops-1/1772612990

Small town, they collected 50k from 50 stops. Only 3 of these resulted in conviction. The headline number represents forfeiture per resident of the town based on 50k.

[rcjordan]

Michigan Seeks to Ban Police from Seizing Property from People Who Have Not Been Convicted of Crimes - Foundation for Economic Education
https://fee.org/articles/michigan-seeks-to-ban-police-from-seizing-property-from-people-who-have-not-been-convicted-of-crimes/

[rcjordan]

Supreme Court Puts Limits on Police Power to Seize Private Property - The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/20/us/politics/civil-asset-forfeiture-supreme-court.html