South Carolina Judge Declares Civil Forfeiture Unconstitutional - Nick Sibilla, Forbes:
October 22, 2019 - "Letting South Carolina police and prosecutors seize and keep cash, cars, and other valuables and use the proceeds to pad their budgets violates the Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments, a circuit court judge in Horry County, South Carolina ruled. In a 15-page decision, 15th Judicial Circuit Judge Steven H. John declared that South Carolina’s civil forfeiture laws, which let the government 'seize unlimited amounts of cash and other property when no crime has been committed,' run afoul of the U.S. and South Carolina Constitutions’ guarantees of due process and bans on excessive fines.
"The court’s decision comes on the heels of a wide-ranging, multi-part investigation into civil forfeiture by the Greenville News. Across the state, South Carolina agencies seized $17.6 million between 2014 and 2016. More than 1,500 individuals (or roughly 40% of all forfeiture cases in the state) had their property taken, despite never [being] convicted of a crime. Their reporting further found that '65 percent of all money police seize is from black males' (like the defendant in the Horry County decision, Travis Lee Green), even though African American men account for a mere 13% of the state’s population.
"Galvanized by the investigation, South Carolina lawmakers, led by Rep. Alan Clemmons, backed legislation that would completely abolish civil forfeiture. Unfortunately, the bill ... stalled. A fully revised version is expected for next year’s session....
"This past February, in a landmark case litigated by the Institute for Justice, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Eighth Amendment’s ban on 'excessive fines' applies to cities and states, not just the federal government..... Following the decision, Judge John asked attorneys for the Solicitor’s Office and Green to each 'submit a brief outlining the constitutionality of the South Carolina civil forfeiture statute.' Fully briefed, in August, Judge John excoriated South Carolina’s civil forfeiture laws, which 'place the burden on the property owner to prove their innocence' and grant the government 'unfettered authorization to seize unlimited amounts of property from citizens without regard to the proportionality of the offense committed'...
"Under state law, the seizing agency gets the first $1,000 of any cash seized, as well as 75% of the remainder. Prosecutors receive 20% of the proceeds, with the remaining 5% sent to the state’s general fund. Law enforcement agencies can then use forfeiture proceeds to cover program expenses (like salaries for forfeiture officials). According to Judge John, 'South Carolina forfeiture programs have de facto power over their own spending' [which] creates 'an institutional incentive for forfeiture program officials to vigorously pursue forfeitures' that violates the constitutional right to due process."
Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicksibilla/2019/10/22/south-carolina-judge-declares--civil-forfeiture-unconstitutional/#441640f22135
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October 22, 2019 - "Letting South Carolina police and prosecutors seize and keep cash, cars, and other valuables and use the proceeds to pad their budgets violates the Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments, a circuit court judge in Horry County, South Carolina ruled. In a 15-page decision, 15th Judicial Circuit Judge Steven H. John declared that South Carolina’s civil forfeiture laws, which let the government 'seize unlimited amounts of cash and other property when no crime has been committed,' run afoul of the U.S. and South Carolina Constitutions’ guarantees of due process and bans on excessive fines.
"The court’s decision comes on the heels of a wide-ranging, multi-part investigation into civil forfeiture by the Greenville News. Across the state, South Carolina agencies seized $17.6 million between 2014 and 2016. More than 1,500 individuals (or roughly 40% of all forfeiture cases in the state) had their property taken, despite never [being] convicted of a crime. Their reporting further found that '65 percent of all money police seize is from black males' (like the defendant in the Horry County decision, Travis Lee Green), even though African American men account for a mere 13% of the state’s population.
"Galvanized by the investigation, South Carolina lawmakers, led by Rep. Alan Clemmons, backed legislation that would completely abolish civil forfeiture. Unfortunately, the bill ... stalled. A fully revised version is expected for next year’s session....
"This past February, in a landmark case litigated by the Institute for Justice, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Eighth Amendment’s ban on 'excessive fines' applies to cities and states, not just the federal government..... Following the decision, Judge John asked attorneys for the Solicitor’s Office and Green to each 'submit a brief outlining the constitutionality of the South Carolina civil forfeiture statute.' Fully briefed, in August, Judge John excoriated South Carolina’s civil forfeiture laws, which 'place the burden on the property owner to prove their innocence' and grant the government 'unfettered authorization to seize unlimited amounts of property from citizens without regard to the proportionality of the offense committed'...
"Under state law, the seizing agency gets the first $1,000 of any cash seized, as well as 75% of the remainder. Prosecutors receive 20% of the proceeds, with the remaining 5% sent to the state’s general fund. Law enforcement agencies can then use forfeiture proceeds to cover program expenses (like salaries for forfeiture officials). According to Judge John, 'South Carolina forfeiture programs have de facto power over their own spending' [which] creates 'an institutional incentive for forfeiture program officials to vigorously pursue forfeitures' that violates the constitutional right to due process."
Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicksibilla/2019/10/22/south-carolina-judge-declares--civil-forfeiture-unconstitutional/#441640f22135
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