Civil Forfeiture in the United States
Civil Forfeiture in the United States

Summary/Abstract: This article examines how the United States Congress has combated organized crime and attempted reducing the profitability of criminal offenses. One result of the legislation is the civil forfeiture which is based on the superstitious notion arose from the medieval that inanimate items have their own minds. Today, civil forfeiture is used to protect the public from assets involved in or derived from criminal activity. Civil forfeiture requires only probable cause in order to someone’s property may be seized, and the legal presumptions are all turned around. In other words, the burden of proof is on the owner of property. As a result, civil forfeiture requires less evidence and provides fewer protection than criminal forfeiture. It can be an advantage for the law enforcement agencies and a major threat to the owners of assets. Moreover, in 88 percent of civil forfeiture cases, the properties are automatically transferred to the law enforcement agencies. Therefore, nowadays civil asset forfeiture is one of the most controversial practices in the American criminal justice system. Furthermore, there are more than 400 federal forfeiture statutes relating to several federal crimes, and each state has own statutory provisions for some form of asset forfeiture, which do not facilitate the defense of property owners. In addition, this essay reviews the history of civil forfeiture in the United States and also analyzes the possible constitutional conflicts of this tool.

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