It's about time...

 

WASHINGTON—The Justice Department will no longer participate in asset seizures by local police agencies that critics say grab cash and other property from individuals without proving they have done anything wrong.

 

The new policy marks one of the most significant changes to asset forfeiture in decades and will bar the U.S. from participating in some types of seizures that have proven popular among state and local law-enforcement agencies because they provide a windfall of cash to local police.

 

Attorney General Eric Holder on Friday called the change “the first step in a comprehensive review that we have launched of the federal asset-forfeiture program.’’

 

The practice, known as federally adopted forfeitures, allowed local law enforcement to retain a greater portion of any seized assets—such as cash or other valuables—than under many state laws. Under “adoptions,” local police agencies would seize property in accordance with federal law and ask the federal government to “adopt” the forfeiture. The U.S. would then sell the assets and return a large chunk of the proceeds to the state or local agency.

 

While asset seizures were meant to target drug traffickers and other criminals, they have become increasingly controversial as people complained that their money, cars and other property were seized without evidence they had committed any crime.

 

The two-page instruction signed by Mr. Holder on Friday also will still allow federal authorities to adopt seizures of weapons, explosives and assets that are linked to child pornography. He said that forfeiture is still a “critical law-enforcement tool when used appropriately.’’

 

 

Justice Department Ends Role in Controversial Seizure Practice - WSJ

 

 

From another article:

 

The decision follows a Washington Post investigation published in September that found that police have made cash seizures worth almost $2.5 billion from motorists and others without search warrants or indictments since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

 

The Post found that local and state police routinely pulled over drivers for minor traffic infractions, pressed them to agree to warrantless searches and seized large amounts of cash without evidence of wrongdoing. The law allows such seizures and forces the owners to prove their property was legally acquired in order to get it back.

 

Police spent the seizure proceeds with little oversight, in some cases buying luxury cars, high-powered weapons and military-grade gear such as armored cars, according to an analysis of Justice Department data obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests.

 

Holder limits seized-asset sharing process that split billions with local, state police - The Washington Post

Here's a link detailing some of the ways that the forfeiture laws have been abused:

 

What is Civil Forfeiture? | End Civil Forfeiture

Amen. I applaud this move.