Supreme Court Agrees To Take Petition Asking Whether Eighth Amendment Protections Apply To Asset Forfeiture

Supreme Court Agrees To Take Petition Asking Whether Eighth Amendment Protections Apply To Asset Forfeiture

6 years ago
Anonymous $cyhBy-qkd5

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20180623/19544440100/supreme-court-agrees-to-take-petition-asking-whether-eighth-amendment-protections-apply-to-asset-forfeiture.shtml

The Supreme Court has agreed to take a case that may alter how states run their asset forfeiture programs. As it stands now, there's nothing unifying forfeiture policies across the nation and, under Jeff Sessions, the DOJ has reopened the federal forfeiture pressure valve, allowing state agencies to bypass recently-passed reforms.

But there's still something at the federal level that possibly affects state-level forfeitures. The question for the Supreme Court is whether or not a Constitutional protection overrides state laws. The case centers on the seizure of an Indiana resident's Land Rover after a drug bust. Tyson Timbs had purchased the $42,000 vehicle with funds from his father's life insurance. So, the vehicle was legally obtained with funds not even remotely linked to Timbs' drug dealing.