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Take the profit motive out of asset forfeiture

With the Texas Senate Criminal Justice Committee poised to propose new restrictions on asset forfeiture income by police and prosecutors, the timing of Sunday's San Antonio Express News story about what amounts to roadside piracy by police in the tiny East Texas town of Tenaha couldn't have come at a more appropriate time time ("Property seizures seen as piracy," Feb. 8). Reported Lisa Sandberg:A two-decade-old state law that grants authorities the power to seize property used in crimes is wielded by some agencies against people who never are charged with ? much less convicted of ? criminal activity.Law enforcement authorities in this East Texas town of 1,000 people seized property from at least 140 motorists between 2006 and 2008, and, to date, filed criminal charges against fewer than half, according to a San Antonio Express-News review of court documents...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on February 10, 2009 (boomark / email).