Political Opinion from a Libertarian Perspective: Property Rights

As part of our hyperlocal coverage, Davidson Local invites ALL registered political parties to submit a monthly opinion column by a designee.
Civil Asset Forfeiture is an egregious act perpetrated on citizens and property ownership in general. It allows the government to seize property even when no conviction is present. They can and do seize your property just based on being charged before you are convicted. The mere fact of being charged with a crime lets the government seize and sell your property, even after you are cleared of a crime. Civil Asset Forfeiture has gradient levels of atrocity. One is lack of conviction the other being even with conviction, they take your property.

Property Rights are central to this law being inappropriate and morally wrong. The law or permission to do this does not mean the state or local government has to do it, it just allows it. Government state or local elects to do so in order to just garner more income. A person can lose everything just from being charged with no recourse. You do not get your property back once exonerated, they now own your property. It isn’t just Federal and State, it is local government and Law Enforcement as well. Unfortunately, monetary gain drives even local government and Law Enforcement to utilize this law in favor of benefiting from amoral acts.

In a lot of people's minds, a person who is charged or convicted needs their property seized, however when a person owns the property it should remain theirs until or unless they decide to sell. Charges or conviction does not offset ownership especially where the government benefits from taking ownership. Once you own it, you own it. There is no way to determine just how much of the dwelling or vehicle came from the fruits of the crime unless the owner kept books on where the illegal funds came from and what they paid for out of those funds, it is just assumed that if they committed a crime then all of the funds went to the maintenance of the dwelling or vehicle, unless the person charged or convicted gives evidence of what was used and where. It is a far overreach of the government to seize property, but yet is one that is accepted publicly, until it happens to you, and it can happen to you.

Civil Asset Forfeiture is a crime perpetrated by government so it is legal theft.