The Washington Examiner editorial staff urges Congress to address civil asset forfeiture.
America’s founding idea was based in part on the Lockean notion that property rights are essential human rights, along with life and liberty. But in today’s America, property rights are not being respected. Lawmakers need to fix this, and they can do it on a bipartisan basis.
This is not the result of a liberal or socialistic scheme to denigrate private ownership. Rather it is a law enforcement procedure by which owners are deprived of their rights, often without ever being convicted or even charged with a crime. To add insult to injury, their property is considered forfeit unless they can prove their innocence, a standard that turns the Constitution’s plain language on its head.
Thanks to the work of journalists and certain popular entertainers, civil forfeiture is finally becoming a household term. Horror stories like that of Chris and Markela Sourovelis, whose home was seized by the city of Philadelphia after their son was caught selling $40 worth of drugs, are finally being told to a wider audience.
As a result, Americans are finally waking up to the abuses by which police seize cash (especially from motorists who are pulled over) just because they can. They often take property despite lacking any reasonable grounds to believe that it has or had anything to do with a crime.
A few states, including Montana and New Mexico, have acted to limit or abolish this practice. Wyoming is considering similar changes, but California legislators recently defeated their state’s attempt at reform, under pressure from the Obama administration. Even so, calls for change have stepped up as new abuses have been revealed.
