Department of Justice Restarts Heavily Criticized Program

After a four-month hiatus, the Justice Department has announced it is resuming its much-criticized “equitable sharing” program, which disburses hundreds of millions of dollars annually to state, local, and tribal law enforcement organizations that seize property and money under highly controversial civil asset forfeiture laws. Law enforcement agencies’ favorite method of bypassing restrictive state forfeiture laws is back in business. In 1984, Congress turned to civil asset forfeiture laws as a means of combating rampant drug trafficking and organized crime. Law enforcement agents were given the ability to seize the property they suspected had been used by the worst offenders to commit their illicit acts, as well as the “fruits” of those crimes. More...