{"id":2007950,"date":"2023-08-22T11:03:02","date_gmt":"2023-08-22T15:03:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/civil-forfeiture-how-the-government-makes-billions-by-taking-americans-private-property\/"},"modified":"2023-08-22T11:07:53","modified_gmt":"2023-08-22T15:07:53","slug":"civil-forfeiture-how-the-government-makes-billions-by-taking-americans-private-property","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/civil-forfeiture-how-the-government-makes-billions-by-taking-americans-private-property\/","title":{"rendered":"Government&#8217;s Billions from Seizing Americans&#8217; Property: Civil Forfeiture Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcivil-forfeiture-how-the-government-makes-billions-by-taking-americans-private-property%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2007950&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div data-post-content=\"true\" class=\"post_content\" id=\"post_content\">\n<h2>Police Raided Her Apartment and \u200dSeized \u200bHer\u2062 Money\u2014But She \u200bWas Never \u2064Charged with a Crime<\/h2>\n<p>In October 2020, police officers raided Cristal Starling&#8217;s New York apartment suspecting her then-boyfriend of\u200b drug dealing. Despite no \u200bsuspicion or charges against\u2063 her, the police seized $8,040 of her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/millionaires-who-support-raising-taxes-on-the-rich-protest-in-front-of-amazon-ceo-jeff-bezos-home\/\" title=\"Millionaires Who Support Raising Taxes On The Rich Protest In Front Of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos\u2019 Home\">hard-earned cash<\/a>. The shocking part?\u2064 They \u2064didn&#8217;t have to return \u200dit.<\/p>\n<p>Through a process called \u2063civil forfeiture, law enforcement can seize property without any obligation to return it. In this\u200d case, the money was transferred to \u200dthe\u200b Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), where it remains.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>Related \u2063Stories<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/philadelphia-lawsuit-blames-increased-crime-on-three-gun-shops-5474782\">Philadelphia Lawsuit Blames Increased Crime on Gun Shops<\/a> (8\/19\/2023)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/innocent-after-proven-guilty-advocates-fight-to-free-man-they-say-was-wrongly-sentenced-to-life-behind-bars-5121830\">Innocent\u2063 After &#8216;Proven&#8217; Guilty: Advocates Fight to\u200c Free Man They Say Was \u2064Wrongly Sentenced to Life Behind Bars<\/a> (3\/24\/2023)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Meanwhile, Ms. Starling&#8217;s \u200dex-boyfriend was acquitted after a jury trial.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Criminal forfeiture happens \u2064after a criminal \u2062conviction,&#8221; explained Kirby Thomas West, an attorney \u2063from the Institute\u200b for Justice (IJ). &#8220;Civil forfeiture, on the other hand, happens often when there&#8217;s \u200dno\u2064 criminal process at \u200ball.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>IJ, a national nonprofit law firm, is\u200d fighting to end \u2064government abuse \u2064of power and protect constitutional \u2064rights. \u2063They consider civil forfeiture to be one of the greatest threats to private property rights.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We are leading\u2062 the charge\u200c to restore due\u200c process and respect for property rights. No one should lose their property without being convicted of a crime,&#8221; states IJ on \u2062its\u2062 website.<\/p>\n<p>In civil forfeiture cases, a person&#8217;s property can be taken\u200b without any arrest or charges. The burden of proof falls \u2062on the property owner to prove their innocence, rather than\u2062 the prosecutor proving guilt.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Unlike\u200c a criminal\u2063 case, where you would go to court and have the right \u2064to be\u200d presumed innocent until proven guilty, in the \u200cforfeiture context, your property is presumed guilty until proven innocent. So, you have to prove that the &#8216;innocent owner&#8217; defense applies\u200b to \u200dyou,&#8221;\u200c said Ms. West.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, most seized \u2063property ends up in administrative forfeiture, \u200da subset of civil forfeiture. This process is \u200dcomplicated, lacks the\u2064 right to counsel, and often results in property being\u2063 taken by\u2064 default.<\/p>\n<p>Ms. Starling, unable to afford a lawyer, tried to regain her money on her own but \u200bmissed a deadline for her petition. However, after appealing to the IJ, the 2nd U.S. Circuit\u2064 Court of Appeals ruled that \u2062her case could \u200bbe heard before \u200ca\u2063 judge, recognizing the injustice of \u200blosing money over a missed deadline.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Today&#8217;s decision will\u2063 have important consequences for civil forfeiture victims who are trying to navigate complicated forfeiture procedures, often without\u2064 help from a \u200dlawyer,&#8221; said IJ Senior Attorney Rob Johnson in \u2064a\u2063 press release. &#8220;If\u2062 the government\u2064 wants to take your money, they \u200bshould have to prove you did something wrong\u2014not trip\u2063 you up with legal procedures.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Ms. Starling \u2063expressed her frustration, stating, &#8220;Nobody\u200d should have to fight this hard \u2064just to keep what&#8217;s theirs.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2>The Constitution and \u200bForfeiture<\/h2>\n<p>Civil \u2063forfeiture has historical roots in maritime crimes\u2062 and piracy, where it was used \u2062to punish \u200cindividuals \u200doutside of law enforcement&#8217;s jurisdiction. However, today it\u2062 is being \u2064used in cases\u2064 where the alleged criminal could be brought to court. This raises questions\u200b about the constitutionality\u200d of civil forfeiture.<\/p>\n<p>The Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees \u2064the right to a prompt hearing if the government intends to keep an individual&#8217;s property through forfeiture. According to Ms. West, this \u2064makes civil forfeiture\u2063 illegal. However, the issue is still being litigated in the courts.<\/p>\n<h2>Billions Seized<\/h2>\n<p>The reason civil forfeiture continues to be used by the government and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/oregon-governor-encourages-people-to-call-police-on-neighbors-violating-covid-orders\/\" title=\"Oregon Governor Encourages People To Call Police On Neighbors Violating COVID Orders\">law enforcement agencies<\/a> is its profitability. Between 2000 and 2019, a combined total \u2064of $68.8 \u2064billion was seized \u2063through forfeiture by states and \u200bthe federal \u2063government, according to IJ&#8217;s &#8220;Policing for \u200dProfit&#8221; report. However, this figure likely \u200dunderestimates the true scope of forfeiture.<\/p>\n<p>Law enforcement agencies are incentivized by \u2063the proceeds of forfeitures, and there are often few limits on how they can use the funds. Examples include purchasing\u2064 luxury items and funding travel expenses.<\/p>\n<p>While some states have enacted legislation\u2064 to protect citizens from civil forfeiture,\u200c law enforcement agencies can bypass these constraints through &#8220;equitable sharing&#8221; with the\u2064 Department\u200b of Justice (DOJ).\u2063 This allows them to\u200c receive a significant\u200c portion of the proceeds, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/civil-forfeiture-how-the-government-makes-billions-by-taking-americans-private-property\/\" title=\"Government's Billions from Seizing Americans' Property: Civil Forfeiture Explained\">making state\u2064 reforms ineffective<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In 2022, states deposited \u2064almost\u2062 $1.8 billion to the DOJ&#8217;s forfeiture fund, with \u200bCalifornia, \u200bNew York, Michigan, the District of Columbia, \u200cFlorida, and \u2063Texas\u200b being the largest contributors.<\/p>\n<h2>The Case for Forfeiture<\/h2>\n<p>The DEA argues that asset\u200c forfeiture is an effective tool to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-names-official-to-help-reverse-trump-era-immigration-policies\/\" title=\"Biden Names Official To Help Reverse Trump-Era Immigration Policies\">combat drug trafficking<\/a> \u2064and \u2064money laundering. It claims that seizing the profits of crime weakens criminal\u2064 enterprises, punishes \u200dcriminals, and aids in dismantling criminal organizations.<\/p>\n<p>In fiscal year 2022,\u200c the DEA seized over $441 \u200dmillion in assets and transferred over\u2062 $203 million\u2063 to the DOJ&#8217;s forfeiture fund. The DOJ also uses \u2064recovered assets to compensate victims of crimes.<\/p>\n<p>However, critics \u2063like Ms. West question the effectiveness of civil forfeiture in disrupting major drug cartels. The data shows that the median \u200cforfeiture amounts are relatively low, and crime rates have not increased in states that have abolished\u2063 civil\u2062 forfeiture.<\/p>\n<p>While criminal forfeiture is widely\u2064 accepted as \u2063constitutional and appropriate, the constitutionality of civil forfeiture is still being debated.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Police raided Cristal Starling&#8217;s NYC apartment in October 2020 suspecting her boyfriend of drug dealing. Although she was never implicated, $8,040 of her money was seized through civil forfeiture. This legal process allowed law enforcement to keep the money without any charges against Starling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1203,"featured_media":2007951,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2007950","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2007950","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1203"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2007950"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2007950\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2007951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2007950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2007950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2007950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}