(MPRN-Lansing) The Legislature has sent bills to Governor Rick Snyder that make some big changes to Michigan’s civil forfeiture law.
It allows police to seize and keep assets of people who are suspected of criminal activity even if they’re never charged or convicted. The bills would make it easier for people who were not convicted of a crime to recover assets such as homes, cars, or bank accounts.
“Innocent people lost their home, or their cash, or their car when they hadn’t done anything really wrong,”
says state Senator Rick Jones (R-Grand Ledge), a former county sheriff.
“What we hope to do with this package is to assure that a crime has been committed and that we are not taking property away from innocent citizens.”
The bills headed to the governor’s desk would also require police agencies to report how much money they make off forfeitures. If and when Governor Snyder signs the bills, it still may not be the final word on the issue.
“Ultimately, we’d like to see Michigan push this process post-conviction to ensure that innocent property owners are never entangled in this process, and never have their property forfeited,”
says Holly Harris with the national group Fix Forfeiture,
“but this is an excellent first step.”
