Point / Counterpoint

Asset forfeiture is a civil proceeding seeking to deprive those charged with controlled substance violations of property that is contraband, instrumentalities, or proceeds of a crime. The profits from asset forfeitures go to law enforcement according to their role in the seizure of the property as well as to the courts, local government, and the state. Asset forfeiture is predicated upon a showing of probable cause that the property is used in connection with the drug trade or is proceeds from the sale of drugs. The burden is upon the owner or interest holder to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the property is “innocent” or, at least in Georgia, that the property owner is an “innocent owner” with no knowledge of the illegal activity allegedly connected to the property. The provisions and procedure for civil forfeiture in Georgia are found in O.C.G.A. §16-13-49.

There is something that soothes the soul about turning cash generated from wrongdoing into funding for law enforcement agencies. Unfettered by the grim realities of the drug trade, academic arguments go back and forth regarding the advisability of the “War on Drugs.” The arguments are familiar and need not be discussed here. No doubt we have all heard that if we only legalize the sale of drugs and thus remove drug profits, the drug trade would soon be extinct...
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Civil forfeiture is often justified by a need to fight the War on Drugs or the War on Crime. Proponents seem to sing from the rooftops, "Hit drug dealers where it hurts – in the wallet!" The ceaseless fight against inexorable crime provides society a menacing bogeyman to justify the conversion of our law enforcement agencies to state sanctioned pirates, trampling upon Americans’ fundamental property rights...
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