Fatima Hussein

fatima.hussein@indystar.com

A Senate bill that aims to overhaul of the state’s civil forfeiture laws has passed through the chamber this week.

Authored by Sens. Philip Boots, Michael Young and Dennis Kruse, Senate Bill 8 passed the Senate 40-10. Democratic Sen. Karen Tallian joined as a co-author of the bill. It now heads to the House.

Under the bill, the government would first need to secure a criminal conviction before forfeiture could occur. The bill also would shift the burden of proof from innocent third-party owners to the government, and require “clear and convincing evidence” to forfeit property.

Law enforcement officials consider civil forfeiture an important tool in fighting illegal drugs, but critics say it leads to "policing for profits" and abuses of private property rights.

Currently, Hoosiers do not have to be convicted of a crime for the government to seize their property through civil forfeiture.

“SB 8 would go a long way toward securing the property rights of all Hoosiers,” said Institute for Justice attorney Sam Gedge in a news release.

“At the same time, the bill would still allow law enforcement agencies to ‘reimburse’ themselves using forfeited property. Indiana police and prosecutors have exploited this sort of loophole for years to funnel millions of dollars into their own budgets.”

Gedge, of the Institute for Justice, a libertarian nonprofit based in Arlington, Va., filed a lawsuit in February 2016 in Marion Superior Court charging IMPD and prosecutors with violating the Indiana Constitution by not forwarding all civil forfeiture proceeds to the state’s common school fund.

State lawmakers have submitted eight bills this legislative session dedicated to reforming the state's controversial civil forfeiture law, which is used to raise millions of dollars each year for local law enforcement agencies around the state.

In the past two years, more than 12 states, including Florida, New Mexico, Nebraska and Maryland, have passed some form of civil forfeiture reform. Twelve states currently require convictions for most or all forfeiture cases.

Jason Snead, a policy analyst with the the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, wrote in August that the pace with which states are adopting these laws "is indicative of the lack of support for the forfeiture status quo."

Today, all states allow for forfeiture, and there are more than 400 federal forfeiture statutes. Legal opinions written on the matter show an inconsistency as to what is and is not a violation of an individual's property rights.

Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry, a Democrat, has cautioned against passing forfeiture reform laws.

Call IndyStar reporter Fatima Hussein at (317) 444-6209. Follow her on Twitter: @fatimathefatima.

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