A June report by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) details how Philadelphia law enforcement agencies seize $14 million in assets annually through civil forfeiture and do not return the property.
“But since civil forfeiture is based on the legal fiction that the property itself is ‘guilty,’ law enforcement doesn’t actually have to charge the property owner with any wrongdoing, much less convict them of a crime,” the report details.
Thus, this is true even if someone is alleged of a crime but never formally charged.
Under state civil forfeiture laws, all the revenue generated from forfeiture goes directly to law enforcement and can even be given to police and prosecutors as bonuses. The ACLU claimed that the Philadelphia district attorney’s share is roughly $2.2 million.
The report referenced a 2012 article in the Philadephia City Paper that showed individuals attempting to get their property back would sometimes have to attend more than ten court dates just to reach a hearing before a judge.
“An estimated 32 percent of cash forfeitures are not supported by a conviction, meaning that well over $1 million is forfeited every year from innocent Philadelphians,” the report states.
The ACLU found that there are stark problems involving the notification that the DA’s Office provides to individuals regarding civil asset forfeiture as well as many procedural hurdles and racial disparities.
