Friday, May 19, 2017

Connecticut House Unanimously Approves Conviction Requirement for Civil Forfeiture

Today, the Connecticut House of Representatives passed HB 7146, which would require a criminal conviction before police can permanently confiscate property. Unlike criminal forfeiture, which targets the property owner and occurs only after a conviction, civil forfeiture sues the property itself and allows the government to permanently keep property without charging anyone with a crime. HB 7146 would split the difference by requiring a conviction in criminal court as a prerequisite to a Connecticut state’s attorney litigating the forfeiture in civil court.“Civil forfeiture is one of the most serious assaults on Americans’ private property rights,” said Institute for Justice Legislative Counsel Lee McGrath. If enacted, Connecticut would join 13 states that currently require convictions for most or all forfeiture cases under state law, including New Hampshire and Vermont. Since 2014, 21 states (most recently Iowa) have tightened their state forfeiture laws, while further legislative efforts are currently pending in at least eight other states...more

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hope this gains more momentum....a scam for crooked cops, prosecutors, and government entities. Hell, I am leery of taking out of state road trips with Colo tags any more as we must convince the blue costumed thugs that we are not competing with the sacred ones: CIA, DEA, et all in their drug distribution for profit monopoly. Soapweed