Restoring Justice for All in America’s Criminal Justice System

Guest: GianCarlo Canaparo Legal Fellow with the Meese Center at the Heritage institute

Unfortunately, despite its commitment to criminal justice reform, the Trump administration has not embraced reform of civil asset forfeiture. Civil forfeiture—the law enforcement tool that authorizes the seizure of property or currency suspected of being either criminal proceeds or instrumentalities—has been broadly criticized for its perverse financial incentives, insufficient protection of due process, and notable abuses. To date, 32 states have reformed or abolished the practice, but Congress has yet to act, and early in the Trump administration, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinstated a highly controversial civil forfeiture practice known as “adoptive forfeitures,” which has been widely criticized for undercutting those state reforms by financially encouraging state and local agencies to circumvent protective state laws.