The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Arizona are suing the Pinal County sheriff and attorney over their enforcement of the state’s civil forfeiture laws.
The lawsuit involves Pinal County resident Rhonda Cox. Her truck was seized by sheriff deputies, after her 20-year-old borrowed the truck one night and replaced the hood and cover with stolen parts, according to an ACLU press release. She filed a claim to get her $6,000-truck back and lost. Per state civil forfeiture laws, she also has to pay the county’s attorneys’ fees and investigation costs, the ACLU says.
Cox had nothing to do with the theft, the statement says. But civil forfeiture laws don’t care. If you own property that was involved in criminal activities, law enforcement will take it away and the owner has to fight to get it back.
“Arizona’s civil asset forfeiture laws gave Pinal County license to steal from Rhonda Cox,” says ACLU staff attorney Emma Andersson. “That would be bad enough, but those laws also made it impossible for her to have a fair shot at challenging that theft in court. The county robbed Rhonda twice: first they took her truck, then they took her day in court.”
In Arizona, law enforcement tries to seize as much property as they can because they get to keep most of the “funds” raised this way. The report “Policing for Profit,” says that from 2000 to 2011, civil forfeiture revenue in the state increased by nearly 400 percent—hundreds of millions in civil forfeiture revenue.
Law enforcement can use that money to pay for staff salaries, equipment, travel, witness protection programs and even drug and gang prevention classes. Some citizens pay double—part tax dollars, part civil forfeiture.
The government doesn’t have to prove that you are guilty, either. Rather, it is the owner of the property who has to prove his or her innocence, as well as the “innocence” of the property seized. Also, because it’s civil and not criminal, you’re not entitled to any free legal help. You have to pay for your own attorney, which is one of the reasons these actions sometimes go unnoticed. Cox had to drop out, because she had to pay for both her attorney fees, as well as the legal expenses from the county.
(I wrote about a civil forfeiture case in Tucson back in April. Legal Theft I and Legal Theft II.)
The ACLU is also working to reform civil forfeiture laws in Minnesota, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, and several other states. Ultimately, they hope to change these rules at a federal level.
The law firm Perkins Coie is also involved in the Arizona lawsuit.
I don’t think anyone has explained civil forfeiture better than John Oliver, so here it is:
This article appears in Jul 16-22, 2015.
As much as I hate the idea of civil forfeiture, at this point Rhonda needs to sue her 20-year-old son.
He was directly responsible for the illegal act and he needs to pay his Mom.
My son was pulled over, his friend had $40 of marijuana on him said my son sold it to him and pinal County seized my $8000 car and we lost. Absolutely ridiculous
Just wondering; how does Arizona deal with owners of Guns that are used in crimes not committed by tem?
Molly1114, I see your point. It is rather ridiculous that you have a son that would shame and disrespect his mother by selling dope in her car.
If you are charged with a DUI for having a single beer (it happens more frequently than you could possibly imagine) you are not subject to civil forfeiture. You keep your car and your possessions.
If you jaywalk they do not confiscate your shoes.
If someone you give someone a ride in your car, say – a friend of a friend, and they had a marijuana seed stuck in the bottom of their shoe and it fell off on your car floor, you get pulled over for one of your license plate light bulbs burning out and the police search your car and find it – should you lose your car and all the possessions inside it?
Say that the seed was not even a marijuana seed and the police still confiscate your vehicle under these draconian laws. You would still have to pay a lawyer to petition the state to give your property back, that is, if they didn’t already auction your belongings. Then you get nothing and still have to pay any legal fees.
These laws are anti-American and set the stage fto encourage our police and justice system to be bad actors. It is pure profit for them with no repercussions financially and legally.
At this point, if your think marijuana is a dangerous drug, please open your mind, exit your self imposed comfort zone and perform some unbiased research. You don’t have to like marijuana, use it or encourage it, but please don’t think that people should have their lives ruined over it in 2015 anymore.
This theft and racketeering by government and law enforcement. This needs to be stopped along with the other abuses by law enforcement who have gotten WAY out of control.