Every American should know what it happening: apnews.com/article/immi...

While the report should certainly be of interest to Hoosier lawmakers, other federal and state officials should look more closely at forfeiture. Innocent Americans should not lose their cash, cars, and homes to the government.

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Police and prosecutors like to say that civil forfeiture is a crime-fighting tool, but there is no reason why taking proceeds of a crime cannot be done in a criminal case. People charged with crimes are entitled to an attorney and must be convicted beyond a reasonable doubt.

The reports also show only 4% of cases settling. However, the sample showed nearly 30% of cases were settled and most of the owners got back some or all of what was seized.

This nonreporting and misreporting seriously distorts the picture one could get of how forfeiture runs in Indiana. According to the reports, only 0.2% of owners contest forfeiture. But IJ’s sample showed owners contesting more than one-third of cases.

@ij.org scoured through Indiana’s court cases to identify all forfeiture cases between 2016 and 2023. Comparing that to the filed reports showed nearly 2,000 missing cases representing $10 million in property.

I wrote about the new study for @forbes.com: www.forbes.com/sites/instit...

Press conference live at 11 am on www.youtube.com/user/Institu...

Press release with a link to the complaint is here: ij.org/press-releas...