SF Chronicle: Op-ed: First they take your stuff, then you get to ask for it back

SF Chronicle: Op-ed: First they take your stuff, then you get to ask for it back by Debra J. Saunders:

Republican political consultant Mike Madrid isn’t used to getting calls from the ACLU, and yet he has found himself working with the civil liberties group because some practices are so egregious that Republicans and Democrats should have no trouble finding common cause. The issue is civil asset forfeiture — also known as ‘policing for profit.’ The federal government can seize your property, and the only way you can get it back is to prove you are not guilty of a crime. California law prohibits local authorities from permanently seizing most property without a conviction, but there’s a loophole in the law — called “equitable sharing.” Local police can seize your property, hand jurisdiction over the feds, and get rewarded with up to 80 percent of the goodies even if prosecutors fail to convict — or even charge — an offender.

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