With this law, the actual who/what is guilty is what asset is confiscated. How does a house/boat/stack of money defend themself? With the majority of the currency forfeited is < $500, the cost of trying to retrieve the asset by proving it is not ill gotten gain, what is the cost of hiring an attorney to go to trial? Since many of the assets are confiscated by an attorney from the DOJ, prosecutor or district attorney, so when the “guilty party” goes to court, it is up against the attorney who first decided that the asset was ill gotten gain. Bureaucrats that seize and confiscate – especially currency – they are allowed to put it in their coffers to spend as they wish for some “toy” they want for their department.
what is the total dollars that bureaucrats- at all levels federal/state/county/city – have confiscated money from companies and individuals that were never convicted of any crime using our civil assets forfeiture law?
Since 2000, civil asset forfeiture has resulted in at least $68.8 billion being confiscated by federal, state, and local governments in the United States. This figure includes assets seized from individuals and companies without requiring a criminal conviction, but it is likely an undercount due to incomplete data from many states[4].
In 2014 alone, federal forfeitures amounted to over $5 billion, surpassing the $3.5 billion stolen by burglars that year[7]. In recent years, annual forfeitures have remained substantial. For example, in 2021, the U.S. Marshals Service handled over 17,000 assets through forfeiture[5], and California reported $33.8 million in state-level forfeitures plus $11.8 million in federal equitable sharing funds[2].
While exact totals across all levels of government are challenging to calculate due to inconsistent reporting and varying laws, civil forfeiture remains a significant source of revenue for law enforcement agencies nationwide[8].
Citations:
[1] https://www.justice.gov/afp/file/5-yr_forfeiture_trends.pdf/dl
[2] https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/media/2021-af.pdf
[3] https://www.leg.state.nv.us/Session/77th2013/Exhibits/Senate/JUD/SJUD305I.pdf
[4] https://ij.org/press-release/new-report-finds-civil-forfeiture-rakes-in-billions-each-year-does-not-fight-crime-2/
[5] https://www.usmarshals.gov/what-we-do/asset-forfeiture/fact-sheet
[6] https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-106shrg66959/html/CHRG-106shrg66959.htm
[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_forfeiture_in_the_United_States
[8] https://ij.org/report/policing-for-profit-3/pfp3content/forfeiture-is-lucrative-for-governments-nationwide/
[9] https://www.aclu-il.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/asset_forfeiture_in_illinois.pdf
A significant portion of civil asset forfeiture proceeds come from individuals who were never found guilty of any crime. While exact figures are difficult to determine due to inconsistent reporting across jurisdictions, several key statistics highlight this issue:
1. In South Carolina, 19% of people targeted for civil forfeiture over a three-year period were never arrested, and nearly 800 people were charged with a crime but not convicted[1].
2. In Philadelphia, only about 1 in 4 respondents in a study was found or pleaded guilty to wrongdoing, yet 69% saw their property forfeited permanently[4].
3. Nationwide, since 2000, states and the federal government have forfeited at least $68.8 billion through civil asset forfeiture[2]. While this total includes seizures from both convicted criminals and innocent individuals, a substantial portion likely comes from people never found guilty.
4. The median value of forfeitures is relatively low in many states. For instance, in Michigan, half of all civil forfeitures of currency were worth less than $423, and in Pennsylvania, the median value was $369[3]. These low values suggest that many seizures target ordinary citizens rather than major criminals.
5. In 2014, federal asset forfeiture accounted for over $5 billion, surpassing the $3.5 billion stolen by burglars that year[7]. This comparison illustrates the scale of civil forfeiture and suggests that a significant portion may come from non-criminal seizures.
While it’s impossible to provide an exact dollar amount, these statistics indicate that billions of dollars have likely been confiscated from individuals never found guilty of a crime through civil asset forfeiture.
Citations:
[1] https://eji.org/news/south-carolina-civil-forfeiture-disproportionately-targets-black-men/
[2] https://ij.org/press-release/new-report-finds-civil-forfeiture-rakes-in-billions-each-year-does-not-fight-crime-2/
[3] https://www.propublica.org/article/police-say-seizing-property-without-trial-helps-keep-crime-down-a-new-study-shows-theyre-wrong
[4] https://ij.org/report/frustrating-corrupt-unfair/
[5] https://standtogether.org/newsroom/constitutionally-limited-government/civil-asset-forfeiture-statistics-abuse-stand-together-trust
[6] https://www.templeton.org/news/how-policing-for-profit-disproportionately-affects-poor-and-minority-groups
[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_forfeiture_in_the_United_States
[8] https://walberg.house.gov/media/in-the-news/epoch-times-civil-forfeiture-how-government-makes-billions-taking-americans
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Filed under: General Problems
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