Rand Paul introduces sweeping reform of civil asset forfeiture laws

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“The federal government has made it far too easy for government agencies to take and profit from the property of those who have not been convicted of a crime,” Paul’s statement read. “The FAIR Act will protect Americans’ Fifth Amendment rights from being infringed upon by ensuring that government agencies no longer profit from taking the property of U.S. citizens without due process.”

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Some have observed that if implemented, this legislation could be the most significant reform in decades. Heritage Foundation policy analyst Jason Snead writes at The Hill, “The bill, if passed, would be the most sweeping reform of abuse-prone federal civil forfeiture law since the 1980s.”

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Back then, Congress turned to civil forfeiture laws to empower law enforcement authorities to seize and forfeit the ill-gotten gains of drug kingpins, criminal organizations, and money launderers, as well as the property they used to commit their crimes. To encourage the use of this newly enhanced tool, Congress created the Assets Forfeiture Fund and allowed federal law enforcement agencies to keep the proceeds of successful forfeitures. The result? An exponential increase in forfeiture activities. In 1985, the first year the fund existed, it brought in just $27 million. In 2012, the value of forfeited assets was $4.3 billion. Today, more than 400 federal laws authorize the seizure of cash, cars, and homes for a range of alleged offenses, and allow forfeiture proceeds to be divided with state and local agencies through Equitable Sharing programs administered by the Treasury and Justice Departments.

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