H.B. 7146: An Act Requiring a Criminal Conviction for Certain Offenses Before Assets Seized in a Lawful Arrest of Lawful Search May Be Forfeited in a Civil Proceeding

  • Status: Won: new law
  • Position: Support
  • Bill Number: 7146
  • Session: 2017
  • Latest Update: June 1, 2017
Placeholder image

Summary

Civil asset forfeiture provides police with the power to take and keep property from someone who has not been convicted or even charged with a crime. Civil asset forfeiture incentivizes policing for profit, disproportionately harms innocent people of color, and frequently violates the Constitution. For these reasons, the ACLU of Connecticut supports banning civil asset forfeiture altogether, in favor of keeping only criminal forfeiture, which requires a criminal conviction prior to seizing forfeiture litigation in which the title to property is transferred to the state.

Publications

No results.

Related Issues

Criminal Legal System Racial Justice View All Issues

Related Content

News & Commentary
Aug 03, 2017
David McGuire of the ACLU of Connecticut / ACLU-CT speaks at the ceremonial signing of nine criminal justice reform bills in Hartford
  • Criminal Legal System|
  • +1 Issue

Connecticut Takes Nine More Steps Toward Criminal Justice Reform

HARTFORD  – The ACLU of Connecticut joined Governor Dannel Malloy and other dignitaries at Faith Congregational Church on August 2 for the ceremonial signing of nine justice reform bills, including four supported by the ACLU-CT. These ACLU-CT-supported bills included:
News & Commentary
Mar 09, 2017
Video image still from ACLU of Connecticut civil asset forfeiture reform guide

Stopping Civil Asset Forfeiture

Civil asset forfeiture allows the government to take and sell someone’s property without ever charging them with a crime. Taking innocent people’s assets is unacceptable and unconstitutional, but it is happening in Connecticut. From 2009 to 2013, there were more than 3,700 civil asset forfeiture cases in our state. In 2017, we successfully advocated for legislation to fix civil asset forfeiture in our state. Under a proposal signed into law by Governor Malloy, the state will only be allowed to confiscate property that was related to a criminal conviction.