The Mackinac Center of Public Policy and the ACLU are teaming up to call for the continued reform of Michigan’s civil forfeiture laws. The Mackinac Center’s Jarrett Skorup tells WSJM News reforms made in 2015 have helped to reign in, to a degree, how and when often the police can seize property during a criminal investigation. However, he thinks more needs to be done.
“Previously, if they wanted to forfeit someone’s stuff, it was based on a very low standard of evidence, and they’ve raised that a little bit higher,” Skorup said. “However, they still aren’t requiring that someone be convicted of a crime in order to take their stuff and forfeit it over to the state.”
Skorup tells us there are several lawmakers in the state legislature interested in implementing a rule requiring that someone actually be convicted for their property to be taken. He says it’s common sense that your property shouldn’t be taken and kept by the government unless you’re actually convicted of something.
