HomeUploadUpload DirectHotlinkRandomAbouttheme toggle

3 Reasons Trump is Wrong to Oppose Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform

Views: 863
Here are three reasons why President Donald Trump is wrong to oppose civil asset forfeiture reform.

------
Subscribe to our YouTube channel: http://youtube.com/reasontv
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Reason.Magazine/
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/reason
Subscribe to our podcast at iTunes: https://goo.gl/az3a7a

Reason is the planet's leading source of news, politics, and culture from a libertarian perspective. Go to reason.com for a point of view you won't get from legacy media and old left-right opinion magazines.
------

Civil forfeiture lets law enforcement basically steal stuff from people.
Civil asset forfeiture allows cops and federal agencies such as the FBI to seize cash and property of suspected criminals but it doesn't require them to bring any charges against their targets or even show that they were in any way involved with wrongdoing.

In 2014, for instance, a Philadelphia couple had their house seized after police arrested their son for possessing $40 of heroin while living there. The parents weren't charged with any crime but in Pennsylvania and many other states, owners of seized property must prove their innocence to get their stuff back.

Civil forfeiture creates terrible incentives for police.
In many cases, the agency that seizes property and cash gets to keep a big chunk of it to fund purchases of equipment and pay personnel costs. In Mississippi in 2015, state narcotics officers alone seized $4 million in cash, cars—and even couches!

In the Magnolia State, cops only get to keep 80 percent of the value of seized assets, but in 26 states, law enforcement gets to keep 100 percent of their haul, giving them an incentive to grab as much as possible, especially since it's time-consuming and expensive for defendants to go to court.

Civil forfeiture is extremely unpopular.
Although most states do their best to hide how much civil forfeiture goes on, it is an increasingly unpopular practice because it so obviously contravenes basic notions of justice. Even in deep-red states—such as Ohio, Utah, and Mississippi—polls routinely show massive majorities in favor of reform once voters understand just how unfair and non-transparent the process is.

In fact, when President Trump threatened to "destroy" the career of a Texas state senator, he could have been referring to any of four politicians, three Republicans and a Democrat, who were deeply involved in reform efforts.

Civil asset forfeiture reform is an idea whose time has come, in Texas and elsewhere, whether Donald Trump is ready or not.

Written by Nick Gillespie. Graphics and editing by Meredith Bragg and Joshua Swain.
@ReasonVidsfollow
Thumbnail for Flemming Rose Against the Worldwide Suppression of Speech34:18
Flemming Rose Against the Worldwide Suppression of Speech
ReasonVids
852 views
Thumbnail for "Wadjda": Q&A with Saudi Arabia's First Female Director5:36
"Wadjda": Q&A with Saudi Arabia's First Female Director
ReasonVids
891 views
Thumbnail for Walt Disney Home Video0:05
Walt Disney Home Video
gggknezz123
287 views
Thumbnail for Adam Conover of Adam Ruins Everything on Seeking Truth in the Post-Truth Era34:06
Adam Conover of Adam Ruins Everything on Seeking Truth in the Post-Truth Era
ReasonVids
946 views
Thumbnail for Ask a Libertarian Lightning Round 2!: Joseph Schumpeter, Eminent Domain, Students for Liberty?5:30
Ask a Libertarian Lightning Round 2!: Joseph Schumpeter, Eminent Domain, Students for Liberty?
ReasonVids
891 views
Thumbnail for Should America Open Its Borders? Reason Presents a Debate on Immigration36:50
Should America Open Its Borders? Reason Presents a Debate on Immigration
ReasonVids
707 views
Thumbnail for Can The Government Outlaw Groupon Discounts?1:19
Can The Government Outlaw Groupon Discounts?
IJvids
836 views
Thumbnail for iGrow Medical Marijuana: A California Growth Industry6:27
iGrow Medical Marijuana: A California Growth Industry
ReasonVids
882 views
Thumbnail for David Friedman on How to Privatize Everything7:33
David Friedman on How to Privatize Everything
ReasonVids
796 views
Thumbnail for Neuroeconomist Paul J. Zak  on Markets and the "Molecule of Love"9:46
Neuroeconomist Paul J. Zak on Markets and the "Molecule of Love"
ReasonVids
774 views
Thumbnail for Remember, powerful libcucks cannot be shamed. Only jail bars or the gallows can put them in their place0:24
Remember, powerful libcucks cannot be shamed. Only jail bars or the gallows can put them in their place
bestofupgoat
403 views
Thumbnail for Morticians Association of America Endorses President Obama's Tough New Fuel Efficiency Standards1:14
Morticians Association of America Endorses President Obama's Tough New Fuel Efficiency Standards
ReasonVids
944 views
Thumbnail for 02 A History of Scotland - Hammers of the Scots58:40
02 A History of Scotland - Hammers of the Scots
AOUisgay
502 views
Thumbnail for What If Halo Was A Horror Game | CameroN xM14:21
What If Halo Was A Horror Game | CameroN xM
invidious
279 views
Thumbnail for How Trump Will Reshape Foreign Policy11:29
How Trump Will Reshape Foreign Policy
ReasonVids
843 views
Thumbnail for How Cultural Innovation Happens: Q&A with Anthropologist Grant McCracken7:47
How Cultural Innovation Happens: Q&A with Anthropologist Grant McCracken
ReasonVids
960 views
Thumbnail for Plants don't like rap music1:29
Plants don't like rap music
bestofupgoat
71 views
Thumbnail for British Gal Gets Americanized0:17
British Gal Gets Americanized
AOUisgay
3211 views
Thumbnail for Footage from "Death Camps"1:12
Footage from "Death Camps"
AOUisgay
506 views
Thumbnail for Marijuana Is Legal in Colorado...Now What?2:33
Marijuana Is Legal in Colorado...Now What?
ReasonVids
734 views
Thumbnail for Hossam Jneed - Fakhamat Al Esm [Official Music Video] (2024) / حسام جنيد - فخامة الأسم | حسام جنيد - Hossam Jneed4:23
Hossam Jneed - Fakhamat Al Esm [Official Music Video] (2024) / حسام جنيد - فخامة الأسم | حسام جنيد - Hossam Jneed
invidious
234 views
Thumbnail for ATTN POLICE: Enough Already with the Jaywalking Stings! Don't Cops Have Better Things To Do?3:08
ATTN POLICE: Enough Already with the Jaywalking Stings! Don't Cops Have Better Things To Do?
ReasonVids
868 views
Thumbnail for Psychedelic Science: Magic Mushrooms5:00
Psychedelic Science: Magic Mushrooms
ReasonVids
845 views
Thumbnail for How to Stop Patent Trolls4:42
How to Stop Patent Trolls
ReasonVids
763 views
Thumbnail for Passed away 20th September 20230:23
Passed away 20th September 2023
AOUisgay
442 views

points

Permalink
Reply
libertarian, reason magazine, reason.com, reason.tv, reasontv
TOS  •  Add Keywords  •  Donate  •   Analytics  •   DMCA  •   Puzzle