Official Theivery

[xoxoxoBruce]

CT became the 14th state to outlaw Civil Asset Forfeiture without one no vote in either house. Originally touted as a way(big surprise) of breaking drug cartels. the cops could grab your cash and property even if no charges were filed, and even if they were and you were found not guilty.

But even with the new safeguard, there are several glaring defects in Connecticut’s forfeiture laws. For starters, the state still allows police and prosecutors to collect 69.5 percent of the proceeds from forfeited property. That provides a strong incentive to seek cases with a hefty payout.
Moreover, Connecticut agencies can spend forfeiture money without any public oversight or accounting, leaving both the public and lawmakers (who are supposed to control the power of the purse) completely in the dark. And unlike recent reforms in seven states, the bill does not address the federal equitable sharing program, which has long acted as a loophole to bypass state reforms.

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