Among its many critical reforms, the FAIR Act (S. 4074) would redress many of the problems with civil forfeiture and abolish its most abusive form. Under “nonjudicial” or “administrative” civil forfeiture, not only can the federal government confiscate property without filing criminal charges, owners can permanently lose their property without a judge ever hearing their case. A report by the Institute for Justice found that more than 76% of all forfeitures conducted by the Justice Department were nonjudicial civil forfeitures. For perspective on the sheer scope and scale of nonjudicial civil forfeiture, consider a recent review by the Justice Department’s Inspector General. To prevent agencies from padding their budgets with what they seize, the FAIR Act would eliminate the perverse incentives that motivate civil forfeiture by redirecting forfeiture proceeds to the Treasury’s General Fund.

Source: Forbes June 30, 2020 12:11 UTC