Civil forfeiture has become a significant government intrusion in recent years. While it remains a viable instrument for federal agents enforcing customs laws and fighting international crime, misguided policies and misaligned incentives foster abuses and raise grave constitutional concerns.
Each year, federal and state forfeiture programs allow law enforcement to seize more than $3 billion in cash and property from thousands of people – often without ever charging them with a crime. There are also serious questions as to whether civil courts using lower burdens of proof are the appropriate means to enforce government anti-crime policies.
Civil forfeiture further jeopardizes the relationship between police and their communities when vulnerable residents who cannot afford to challenge small-value seizures are targeted. There are also questionable benefits when financially-stressed departments prioritize revenue-generating forfeitures over arrests, drug interdiction, and crime-fighting.
CEI is addressing these issues through its new Forfeiture Reform Initiative: engaging federal and state policymakers to implement much-needed reforms and educating the public about their constitutional rights to stop improper seizures in the first place.
No person should have to fear for their property while engaged in lawful activities or lose it without ever being convicted of a crime.
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Some thoughts on Constitution Day
As I drove into work today, it occurred to me: we so often take for granted the extraordinary power that the automobile gives us. Once…
Fox News
Federal judge rules that 156-year-old ban on at-home distilling is unconstitutional
Fox News cites CEI’s Devin Watkins and Dan Greenberg on Hobby Distillers Association v. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau et al: Devin Watkins,…
Blog
Sunshine in Wyoming’s civil forfeiture
Transparency in civil forfeiture took a small step forward last week when the Wyoming Liberty Group published its latest report. One difficulty in writing about…
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CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. ENVIRONMENT House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell proposes new energy taxes…
Study
The Law of the Sea Treaty
The genesis of the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST), widely known as the “constitution of the oceans,” runs back more than 60 years. The…
Op-Eds
Tax hike ahead
USA TODAY's debate on private equity taxation raised important points but overlooked a key fact (“Decoy on tax fairness,” Our view; “…
Op-Eds
Bush’s Credit Issues
In the midst of what’s called the subprime mortgage “contagion,” President Bush seems to have caught a virus of his own: Potomac paternalism syndrome.
Study
A Village’s Travail
Full Document Available in PDF Rosia Montana, a poor mining town in the Transylvanian…
Op-Eds
Bankrupting Florida
If a catastrophic Katrina-like hurricane sweeps through the state of Florida, it may leave behind more than wrecked houses, damaged shops, and ruined roads:…
News Release
New Study Charts the Growth of Environmental Law
Washington, D.C., July 17, 2007—According to a new study from the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the conventional idea that progressive environmental causes suffer under conservative…
Letters
A Letter Urging Congress to Reject Capital Gains Tax Hikes
Dear Representative, On behalf of the millions of grassroots investors who are members of our organizations, we strongly urge you to reject any increase…
Op-Eds
Chuck Schumer Thinks You’re Stupid
In his new book, entitled “Positively American,” Chuck Schumer wants you to know that he has a vision. Yes, in between leading efforts…
Op-Eds
Hurricane Eye on Insurers
Throughout the hurricane zone that follows <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />America's Atlantic coastline from Texas to North Carolina, a populist…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> Issues in the News 1. ENERGY Consumers nationwide…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. REGULATION Maryland lawmakers approve a statewide ban on smoking in bars and restaurants.
Op-Eds
Unsustainable Environmentalism
Environmental activists use the term “sustainable development” to convey the notion that they’re not merely knee-jerk anti-business zealots and that they are all in…
Op-Eds
Free the Eagle: The bird will do fine off the endangered list
T he bald eagle was supposed to be taken off the Endangered Species list in 48 states on February 16, but environmental pressure groups and…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> Issues in the News 1. ENVIRONMENT…
Study
A Free Market Agenda for the 110th Congress
Washington, D.C., January 10, 2007—Today the Competitive Enterprise Institute releases its policy recommendations for the new leadership on Capitol Hill: This Liberal Congress Went to…
Study
This Liberal Congress Went to Market: a Bipartisan Policy Agenda for the 110th Congress
DO…
News Release
A Free Market Agenda for the 110th Congress
Contact: Richard Morrison, 202.331.2273 Washington, D.C., January 10, 2007—Today the Competitive Enterprise Institute releases its policy recommendations for the new leadership…
Op-Eds
Junk Cinema
Fast Food Nation kicks off with a suit-clad fast food chain boss telling one of his executives to investigate a meat packing plant rumored to…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. TECHNOLOGY The White House appoints a new “Cybersecurity Czar” to oversee federal computer security…
News Release
New ‘Center for Entrepreneurship’ to Examine Financial Regulation
Contact: Christine Hall, 202.331.2258 Washington, D.C., August 24, 2006— The Competitive Enterprise Institute is proud to announce the launch of a new…
Letters
Letter to the FCC regarding “must carry” laws for cable operators
Full Document Available in PDF The undersigned organizations would…
News Release
Trouble at Treasury: Paulson Wrong Choice for Secretary
Washington, D.C., May 30, 2006—The White House made an unfortunate mistake in nominating Henry M. Paulson, Jr. to be the next Secretary of the Treasury, according…
Letters
Letter to Congress in Support of Sugar Reform Amendment
Full Document Available in PDF…
Products
CEI Planet: March – April 2006
Full Document Available in PDF New Era, or ‘Ancien Régime,’…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. ECONOMY The White House announces a federal investigation into the causes behind current high gas prices.
Op-Eds
Careful What You Wish For
If you wanted to lower electric energy prices in the US, what would you do? If you answered, “Cripple the domestic railroad industry,” you'd…
Letters
ESA Coalition Letter to Senator James M. Inhofe
Full Document Available in PDF…
News Release
Supreme Court Reviews Water Quality Regulations
The U.S. Supreme Court today hears arguments over the reach and constitutionality of the Clean Water Act, setting the stage for a potentially…
Op-Eds
Our Miserly Uncle
Although it may be heresy for a libertarian or a conservative to say, I really like living in Washington. I try to be grateful every…
Op-Eds
Starborn Society
Science fiction has long been stereotyped as a hardware-obsessed, techno-jargon laden refuge for computer nerds and outcasts. Especially on television, which lacks the geek…
Study
MSA Opposition Brief
Full Document Available in PDF…
Op-Eds
A Windfall of Bad Ideas
In the third-quarter of 2005, the major U.S. oil companies—ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, BP America, and Shell Oil Company—collectively earned almost $26 billion in profits, an…
News Release
Supreme Court Nominee Alito Good News
Washington, D.C., October 31, 2005—The President's nomination of Third Circuit Judge Sam Alito to serve on the Supreme Court is good news.<?xml:namespace prefix…
News Release
Trade Liberalization Again Threatened by Agricultural Special Interests
<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Washington, D.C., October 20, 2005— The world's best hope for eliminating poverty – the continued liberalization…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. PROPERTY RIGHTS City officials in Washington, D.C. plan to use eminent domain to acquire land…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
1. CONSTITUTIONAL & LEGAL CEI launches a lawsuit challenging the government-sponsored tobacco cartel created by the 1998 multi-state tobacco settlement. CEI…
Op-Eds
Property Rights Yield to Corporate Welfare, by Hans Bader
Americans can wave goodbye to constitutional property rights protections, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-to-4 that a Connecticut city could condemn the homes…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. LEGAL & CONSTITUTIONAL Property rights activists organize and a Montana Congressman introduces legislation to counter the Supreme…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. ENVIRONMENT The White House is backing a bill that would allow for offshore fish farms in…
News Release
Career Scientist Nominated as EPA Head
Contact for Interviews: <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> Richard Morrison, 202.331.2273 …
News Release
UN Sea Treaty Brings ‘Tragedy of the Commons’
Contact for Interviews: <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> Richard Morrison, 202.331.2273 …
News Release
Alien Torts: The Risks of Allowing Foreign Citizens to Sue U.S. Companies
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />June 25, 2003…
News Release
CEI Joins Center for Private Conservation, Heritage Foundation to Celebrate ‘Private Conservation Day’
Video of the event is available online. Contact: Judy Kent 202-331-2266 On April 14, 2003, the nation’s top land management…
News Release
The Blueprint for Building A New Iraq
<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Washington, D.C., April 15, 2003—As U.S. and British forces begin to wrap up their mission in…
CEI Planet
February Edition of CEI Monthly Planet
Full Document Available in PDF Articles in this edition:…
News Release
Boost Your Environmental IQ Online
Washington, D.C., February 7, 2003—The Competitive Enterprise Institute is launching a new online feature, the "e-class" quiz, this week. The quiz, developed by CEI’s…
News Release
Success Of New Book Shows: Many Americans Don’t Believe Gloom And Doom Theories
Washington, D.C., January 14, 2003—The Competitive Enterprise Institute is celebrating the success of its latest book on environmental issues,…
Products
January Edition of CEI Monthly Planet
Full Document Available in PDF Articles in this edition: “The Grim Green…
Products
November/December 2002 Edition of CEI Update
Full Document Available in PDF Articles in this edition: “FDA’s Pediatric Rule…