Police to ramp up asset seizures
Your son gets busted for marijuana and police seize the car he was driving – your car, but no more. It was involved in criminal activity, police say, so they can keep it even if charges against your son are eventually dropped.
A trooper stops you along the highway for minor speeding and seizes money you had for a down payment on a condo. To get the cash back, you have to go to court and prove it wasn’t involved in a crime.
Controversy over such confiscations by police prompted the U.S. Justice Department in 2015 to all but end a federal program that helped state and local police keep the properties they seized.
Now, President Trump's Justice Department is reinstating the program. That may allow police to circumvent tougher laws states have enacted on forfeiture. Find out why Attorney General Jeff Sessions made the move and what Georgia police have to say about it by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2udLIlG
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About the Author
Norder is Senior Editor for Investigations at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The investigative reporters she directs work to independently examine the workings of government and other powerful institutions and individuals. Their goal is to help improve the lives of Georgians.
