We hear a constant refrain that Americans are more divided than ever. But our experience as members of the Georgia Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights proves that Georgians of all stripes can come together to tackle a major challenge.
The committee, comprised of 13 civic-minded Georgians, has issued a report on the topic of civil asset forfeiture and its effects, particularly on communities of color.
Throughout the pandemic, we heard testimony from a variety of sources – from public interest law firms to think tanks to law enforcement – on the use and abuse of civil asset forfeiture.
Civil asset forfeiture is when law enforcement takes a person’s private property on the assumption that the property is connected to a crime. However, the government does not actually have to prove the property was used in a crime, or even charge any person with a crime.
Credit: Courtesy
Credit: Courtesy
In the real world, this gives the government a “license to steal” Georgians’ private property without due process.
The original stated purpose of civil asset forfeiture was to seize property from those involved with drug trafficking and other major organized criminal activity. Contrary to its intended purpose, it is used today to not capture the property of drug kingpins or international criminals; rather it takes the private property of those Georgians with the fewest resources.
Data on the use of civil asset forfeiture in Georgia is scarce, but our committee reviewed evidence that in Georgia between 2015-2018, 58% of the forfeited property at the state level was cash, half worth less than $540.
Among the testimony we heard was that from attorneys at the Institute for Justice, which assigned Georgia a grade of D-minus for the way in which the civil asset forfeiture is conducted. This grade was based on the low burden of proof required for Georgia law enforcement to seize property as well as the difficulty for innocent property owners to recover their property after it was seized improperly.
In fact, those whose cars, cash, or other items have been seized have no recourse to recover it under Georgia law.
This is an unacceptable and unjust use of government force and resources and is one reason we call on Georgians across the spectrum to reform civil asset forfeiture.
The Georgia General Assembly has attempted to reform the practice of civil asset forfeiture twice over the past few years with bills that would have either paused civil asset forfeiture hearings until the completion of a criminal trial or would have directed the proceeds from seizures to be used to support children’s interests .
Neither of these reforms passed when they were considered, but attention has only grown on the abuse of this practice. Not only has our committee reported on this issue, but also committees in Massachusetts, South Carolina, New Jersey, Michigan and Tennessee.
The vast majority of Georgians agree that among our most precious rights is the capacity to own and control our private property.
We hope you will join us in calling our members of the General Assembly to make it a priority next session to abolish or at least reform substantially civil asset forfeiture, which is so easily abused, fundamentally violates the property rights of Georgians and does nothing to further public safety.
Chantel Mullen and Richard Lorenc are residents of Atlanta. Mullen chairs the Georgia Advisory Committee for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights; Lorenc is a committee member. The committee’s report on the use and impact of civil asset forfeiture in communities of color in Georgia can be found here.
