Post by Logan on Apr 13, 2016 21:22:34 GMT -6
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers overwhelmingly voted Wednesday to eliminate the state's civil forfeiture system amid outrage it creates a monetary incentive for law enforcement to use a controversial federal process to seize property before a conviction.
Lawmakers voted 38-8 to ban civil forfeiture and replace it with a system requiring a criminal conviction before law enforcement could seize property. The measure by Sen. Tommy Garrett of Bellevue would also limit use of a federal program to seize cash or property.
Civil forfeiture allows police to confiscate money or property before someone is convicted, based on suspicion it was used to violate a law. Garrett said individuals who have been deemed innocent then must hire a lawyer to reclaim the money or property and called the current system an attack on due process.
"When I first saw this, I had one word that rang in my mind and it was 'scandal,'" Garrett said. "How could this possibly be happening in the United States of America? Whatever happened to due process? Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty? Why aren't we respecting the law?"
Read more: www.theindependent.com/news/state/nebraska-lawmakers-ok-new-limits-on-property-seizures/article_4ac282b7-ab7d-5913-bc78-84dab409148d.html
Lawmakers voted 38-8 to ban civil forfeiture and replace it with a system requiring a criminal conviction before law enforcement could seize property. The measure by Sen. Tommy Garrett of Bellevue would also limit use of a federal program to seize cash or property.
Civil forfeiture allows police to confiscate money or property before someone is convicted, based on suspicion it was used to violate a law. Garrett said individuals who have been deemed innocent then must hire a lawyer to reclaim the money or property and called the current system an attack on due process.
"When I first saw this, I had one word that rang in my mind and it was 'scandal,'" Garrett said. "How could this possibly be happening in the United States of America? Whatever happened to due process? Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty? Why aren't we respecting the law?"
Read more: www.theindependent.com/news/state/nebraska-lawmakers-ok-new-limits-on-property-seizures/article_4ac282b7-ab7d-5913-bc78-84dab409148d.html