Swordsmyth
07-12-2017, 09:03 PM
Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy signed (http://ij.org/press-release/connecticut-now-requires-criminal-conviction-civil-forfeiture/) HB 7146 on Monday, which curbs the state’s civil forfeiture laws. Not only did the bill earn endorsements from the Yankee Institute for the Public Policy (http://www.yankeeinstitute.org/) and the state chapter of the ACLU (http://www.acluct.org/updates/stopping-civil-asset-forfeiture/), HB 7146 even passed (https://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/cgabillstatus/cgabillstatus.asp?selBillType=Bill&bill_num=HB07146&which_year=2017) both the House and the Senate without a single no vote.
Under the new law, in order to permanently confiscate property with civil forfeiture, the property must be first seized in connection to either a lawful arrest or a lawful search that results in an arrest. If prosecutors do not secure a guilty verdict, a plea bargain or a dismissal from finishing a pretrial diversion program, the government must return the property to its rightful owner. With the stroke of a pen, Connecticut now becomes the 14th state (http://ij.org/activism/legislation/civil-forfeiture-legislative-highlights/) to require a criminal conviction for most or all forfeiture cases.
More at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/instituteforjustice/2017/07/11/connecticut-just-banned-civil-forfeiture-without-a-criminal-conviction/#3e47a25e52e7
Under the new law, in order to permanently confiscate property with civil forfeiture, the property must be first seized in connection to either a lawful arrest or a lawful search that results in an arrest. If prosecutors do not secure a guilty verdict, a plea bargain or a dismissal from finishing a pretrial diversion program, the government must return the property to its rightful owner. With the stroke of a pen, Connecticut now becomes the 14th state (http://ij.org/activism/legislation/civil-forfeiture-legislative-highlights/) to require a criminal conviction for most or all forfeiture cases.
More at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/instituteforjustice/2017/07/11/connecticut-just-banned-civil-forfeiture-without-a-criminal-conviction/#3e47a25e52e7