{"id":30431,"date":"2015-02-27T03:00:25","date_gmt":"2015-02-27T08:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/?p=30431"},"modified":"2015-02-25T09:32:44","modified_gmt":"2015-02-25T14:32:44","slug":"virginias-asset-forfeiture-rules-about-to-change-for-the-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/2015\/02\/27\/virginias-asset-forfeiture-rules-about-to-change-for-the-better\/","title":{"rendered":"Virginia’s asset forfeiture rules about to change for the better"},"content":{"rendered":"

Techdirt<\/em>‘s Tim Cushing<\/a> reports on a hopeful sign from Virginia:<\/p>\n

The Institute for Justice’s 2010 report “Policing for Profit<\/a>” [PDF] listed Virginia as one of the worst five states in the nation in terms of forfeiture abuse. Pushing the state towards its Bottom Five finish was this perverted incentive: 100% of the proceeds from civil asset forfeiture were retained by the law enforcement agency performing the seizure. And, like a majority of states, Virginia also perverted the justice system, deeming the property “guilty” and transferring the burden of proof to those whose assets were seized.<\/p>\n

Now that civil asset forfeiture<\/a> has gone mainstream, receiving coverage<\/a> from major press outlets, legislators are having a harder time ignoring opponents of these “legalized theft” programs. In response, Virginia’s lawmakers are trying to drag the state out of its forfeiture morass.<\/p>\n