Supreme Court must reconsider protections for innocent owners facing civil asset forfeiture.

Austin, Texas- The Institute for Justice petitioned the Texas Supreme court to review a recent appellate court ruling that threatens property rights throughout Texas. In December, the 14th Court of Appeals in Houston ruled that the government may place the burden on property owners to prove their innocence when their property is taken through the state’s draconian civil forfeiture laws.

“Civil forfeiture threatens the property rights of all Texans,” said Scott Bullock, senior attorney with the Institute for Justice and lead attorney on the case. “The last time the Texas Supreme Court looked at this issue, over half a century ago, civil forfeiture was a rarely invoked power. Today, it is a multi-million-dollar industry where innocent property owners can lose their homes, trucks, cash, and other property without ever being charged let alone convicted of a crime. Now is the time for the Texas Supreme Court to restore protections for private property rights,” he added.

Civil forfeiture permits law enforcement to charge property with a crime. Unlike criminal forfeiture, where property is taken away only after its owner has been found guilty in a court of law, with civil forfeiture owners need not be convicted or even accused of any crime to lose their homes, land, trucks, boats or cash. Under civil forfeiture, the traditional burden of proof in criminal cases—where the government must demonstrate guilt—is placed on property owners, who must demonstrate their innocence.
http://www.ij.org/texas-civil-forfeiture-release-2-20-2013