United States v. $69,490.50 in U.S. Currency

In the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act of 2000, Congress provided that the government should bear the burden to prove wrongdoing in civil forfeiture cases--overturning earlier cases that placed the burden on property owners. But many courts have failed to honor that reform in the 20 years since it was enacted and, instead, continue to demand that property owners prove their own innocence to avoid forfeiture. In this amicus brief, IJ urges the Fourth Circuit to give real teeth to those reforms.

Following IJ's brief, the Fourth Circuit issued an important decision holding that the government cannot just assume that drivers found with large amounts of cash in their vehicles are engaged in drug trafficking.