By Andrew Moran at Economic Collapse News
The total annual dollar value of assets seized by federal law enforcement agencies has been soaring since 2011. At the same time, however, the total annual dollar value of assets seized through burglary has actually gone down.
That’s right. Assets taken by the government has surpassed that of burglaries. Today, civil asset forfeiture in the United States has exceeded $5 billion, while burglaries have dipped below $4 billion. That’s just incredible. (SEE: Civil Asset Forfeiture and the Income Tax)
The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) notes that federal legislators are looking to curb law enforcement’s immense appetite for taking away private property. Wisconsin Republican Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner has presented the Due Process Act.
Some of the elements inside the bill consist of:
– Enhances procedural protections of forfeiture proceedings in both civil and administrative settings and prevents government overreach.
– Increases the government’s burden of proof in civil asset forfeiture cases to help protect innocent victims.
– Creates a right to counsel for Americans in all civil asset forfeiture proceedings
– Expands protections to innocent owners by requiring the government to prove the connection between the property and the offense and that the property was used intentionally in order to seize it.
– Requires the Inspector General to conduct a yearly audit on a representative sample of federal civil forfeitures to ensure they are being conducted within the letter and spirit of the law
Here is John Oliver speaking about this dubious process in 2014:
