The Centennial State reformed its civil forfeiture laws in 2002, but the laws’ C grade demonstrates that the state should do more to protect Coloradans from abuse. The standard of proof the government must meet in order to forfeit property in Colorado is clear and convincing evidence. In cases where an innocent owner objects to a seizure, the government bears the burden of showing that the owner participated in, condoned or knew about the criminal activity associated with the property. Colorado law enforcement keeps 50 percent of all funds generated through civil forfeiture—one of the weaker financial incentives nationally but an incentive to seize nonetheless.

Colorado requires limited reporting on forfeitures, but the requirements are not consistently followed, nor are reports made readily available for public or legislative review. District attorneys must file annual forfeiture reports with the Department of Local Affairs and, unusually, must indicate whether the person from whom the property was seized was charged with or convicted of a crime. Unfortunately, reviewing these reports requires filing a Colorado Open Records Act request. When the Institute for Justice did so, it found that many reports were missing. Further, report data are not reviewed and aggregated, making it impossible to get an at-a-glance sense of the scope of forfeiture in Colorado. Data from agencies that did report, compiled by IJ, indicate forfeitures totaling almost $13 million between 2000 and 2013.