Go to Article
Excerpt from www.washingtonexaminer.com
Federal officials are using their authority to confiscate drug-related cash to seize money from people whose actions don’t rise to the level of criminal charges, according to a new government report.
Justice Department auditors reviewed 100 instances of civil asset forfeiture, a policy that allows law enforcement officers to seize cash from people suspected of carrying the money in connection with the drug trade. But fifty-six of the seizures did not relate verifiably to ongoing investigations or lead to arrests or prosecutions, the inspector general noted.
“When seizure and administrative forfeitures do not ultimately advance an investigation or prosecution, law enforcement creates the appearance, and risks the reality, that it is more interested in seizing and forfeiting cash than advancing an investigation or prosecution,” the IG report said. “[T]he risks to civil liberties are particularly significant when seizures that do not advance or relate to an investigation are conducted without a court-issued seizure warrant, the presence of illicit narcotics, or subsequent judicial involvement prior to administrative forfeiture.”
About The Author
