Earlier today in The Blaze, a relatively fair report, with a pretty solid quote from TAC communications director, Mike Maharrey:
Burton’s legislation would make it necessary for law enforcement officers to know beforehand that the possessors of the seized cash or property are, in fact, actually criminals and the property is in some way linked to an actual crime.
“If Texas is like a lot of other places, you’re going to get heavy public support for measures like these, with the law enforcement lobby being the main voice against reform,” Mike Maharrey, national communications director for the 10th Amendment Center, a think tank that advocates shrinking government power, told the Dallas Observer of Burton’s proposal.
“They’ll cry about blood running in the streets and an inability to fund their operations without it,” he continued. “Civil forfeiture is definitely a well-defended piece of turf that law enforcement holds where it’s able to.”
Asset forfeiture without a conviction needs to end in Texas (and everywhere). See our report on Texas State Sen. Konni Burton’s SB380 here.
