On a Saturday afternoon in April 2016, Arlene Harjo let her 38-year-old son borrow her two-year-old Nissan Versa for what he said was a trip to the gym with his friends. He was gone all day, and the next morning Harjo learned that Albuquerque police had arrested him for driving while intoxicated. The cops had also taken custody of Harjo’s car, which the city planned to keep.
Harjo’s response to Albuquerque’s theft of her car culminated this week in a ruling that highlights two especially troubling aspects of civil forfeiture, Jacob Sullum says. The practice, which allows confiscation of assets allegedly tied to crime even when the owner has not been accused of breaking the law, gives the government a financial incentive to take people’s property and requires them to prove their innocence if they want to get it back.
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