Maine became the fourth state to abolish civil forfeiture, a practice that enables law enforcement to confiscate millions of dollars worth of property without ever filing criminal charges. Taking effect on Tuesday without the governor's signature, LD 1521 fully repeals Maine’s civil forfeiture laws, while simultaneously bolstering its criminal forfeiture process, which only authorizes forfeiture after a criminal conviction (apart from a few narrow circumstances, like the owner’s death or deportation). Although civil forfeiture is typically defended as a way to fight back against drug kingpins, in reality, many forfeiture cases have been remarkably petty. Moreover, the votes on transferring forfeiture proceeds were always on the consent agenda, meaning the votes were unanimous, with little to any public debate. “Maine’s decision to repeal civil forfeiture ends an immense injustice and will ensure that only convicted criminals—and not innocent Mainers—lose their property to forfeiture.”

Source: Forbes July 14, 2021 18:45 UTC