We Urge Congress to Reform Civil Forfeiture

March 15, 2021–Due Process Institute joined a bipartisan coalition calling for Congress to curb law enforcement’s power to use and abuse the practice of civil forfeiture by enacting strong reforms. With civil forfeiture, law enforcement can seize property from innocent property owners, and those innocent owners can permanently lose it to the government, without the government ever charging, much less convicting, them of a crime. It also utilizes improper financial incentives while also possessing serious procedural deficiencies that undermine the due process rights of property owners. The use of civil forfeiture is opposed by the majority of Americans, promotes negative interactions between police and communities, and does not help law enforcement in their mission.