[Forbes] One of the most abhorrent current governmental practices is that of civil asset forfeiture. Turning the usual rules of due process of law upside-down, civil asset forfeiture enables local, state, or federal authorities to confiscate money and/or property from individuals merely on suspicion that the property was somehow involved in a criminal activity.These odious laws should, as I have previously suggested, go the way of the Jim Crow Laws. They’re unfair, easily abused, and incompatible with due process.
Once property has been taken, it is necessary for the owner to go to court and try proving his innocence – or else lose it forever.
Only by enduring what are often protracted and costly legal proceedings can the person recover the seized property. Many innocent people just can’t fight the system and lose out entirely; others settle with the government, getting back a fraction of what was taken from them.
These seizures are highly lucrative for government bodies. Many police forces pad their budgets considerably with the proceeds from asset forfeitures.