This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Civil forfeiture is a repugnant practice that legislators should stop immediately. The nonpartisan Institute for Justice has documented many cases in which police and prosecutors have used civil forfeiture to unlawfully take property in what it calls "policing for profit."
As an example, a group of Christians from Burma and Thailand had more than $53,000 seized by Muskogee County, Okla. The money included cash donations made to a Thai orphanage and funds being raised for a nonprofit school in Burma during a five-month tour of churches across the U.S. The group members committed no crime, but had their cash confiscated anyway.
If that seizure had happened in Salt Lake County, District Attorney Sim Gill would have told them, "...state law allows innocent people plenty of time to get their property back." But people must spend their time and money to get back what's theirs in the first place.
The U.S. Constitution's Fourth Amendment clearly states, "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated..." Prosecutors must show evidence of a crime before they seize anyone's property. Absent that evidence, obey the Constitution.
Jon Titus
Herriman