Virginia lawmaker targets civil forfeiture

[mahatmakanejeeves]

State lawmaker targets civil forfeiture

24 October 2014 By Kenric Ward

Blasting a “fundamentally un-American” seizure of assets from Virginians, a state lawmaker wants to rein in police powers in the commonwealth. ... “Current Virginia law allows for seizure of personal property without a criminal conviction. My legislation would require criminal conviction before property could be taken,” said state Delegate Mark Cole.
....

Not surprisingly, Cole knows of no law-enforcement groups backing his bill that will be heard at the 2015 General Assembly.

“I have been contacted by some commonwealth attorneys who believe it would make their jobs harder,” he said. “While I certainly do not want to make the job of our law enforcement officials harder, I believe we need to strengthen our property protections to avoid potential abuse or the taking of property from an innocent person.”

Cole’s legislation, House Bill 1287, has support from right-leaning tea party groups, as well as the liberal American Civil Liberties Union.

You know that when the Tea Party and the ACLU are in agreement, this guy is onto something.