Grading Civil Forfeiture Laws
Policing for Profit grades the civil forfeiture laws of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the federal government based on three key elements with substantial implications for property and due process rights. These elements are (1) how much forfeiture laws reward law enforcement for pursuing forfeiture; (2) whether they put the burden on third-party owners to prove their innocence to recover property; and (3) how high their standard of proof is to show that property is connected to a crime.
These three elements reflect fundamental problems with civil forfeiture that, together, can make it financially rewarding and procedurally easy for law enforcement to forfeit property, even from innocent people. Indeed, research has linked these elements with law enforcement behavior, finding forfeiture activity is influenced by both financial return and procedural ease. 1
States sometimes have multiple forfeiture statutes covering different types of crimes. Where this is the case, this report assigns grades based on laws for controlled-substances forfeitures, as these have been the most common forfeitures historically. Appendix A provides greater detail on grading methods, and Appendix B provides citations, including many concerning forfeitures for non-drug offenses.