Stop TN Policing for Profit

“A man’s home may be his castle, but that does not keep the government from taking it.” ~United States v. Hendler Tennessee politicians are attacking your private property rights! Did you know under Tennessee law, the government can seize your private property without even charging you with a crime?! H.B. 2428 has been introduced in the State House and S.B. 2272 has been introduced in the State Senate. These bills will help put a stop to draconian civil asset forfeiture practices by requiring law enforcement to have an arrest and conviction BEFORE you would have to forfeit your property. Call your State Senator and ask them to cosponsor S.B. 2272 and call your State Representative and ask them to cosponsor H.B. 2428 today! Click here to find your state legislators. Civil forfeiture has become big business in Tennessee, and it allows the government to seize your cash, cars, and even your house, based on the mere suspicion of a crime. If you don’t have $10,000 or so to hire an attorney who specializes in civil forfeiture cases, you’re unlikely to ever get your property back, and the police who took your property can receive up to 100% of the proceeds! The legal theory behind civil forfeiture is that your property is guilty of a crime – not you. And since it is a civil procedure, NONE of the protections that would apply to a criminal proceeding are in place. Your property is presumed guilty. If you can’t prove it is “innocent,” you can lose it – even if you have not been accused of any wrongdoing! Even if you are tried and acquitted of a crime, the government can still take your property through civil forfeiture! Does this sound like the America you know and love? Civil forfeiture laws create a perverse incentive for police to target and seize property INSTEAD of targeting, investigating, and proving actual criminal behavior. With governments at all levels struggling to pay for their out-of-control spending, it is no surprise this terrible law has encouraged law enforcement and District Attorneys to “Police For Profit” and self-finance by targeting our private property as a funding source. These ill-gotten funds are often abused. One Tennessee police chief bought and shipped a bulldozer for personal use on property he owns in another county. He paid for it with civil forfeiture funds. He later had to resign from office and was indicted by the T.B.I. Countless people across Tennessee have fallen victim to this terrible law, including people like Van Huynh, a Vietnamese immigrant who was stopped by DICE on I-40 in Tennessee. Mr. Huynh was traveling from Virginia back to his home in Texas after trying to purchase a nail salon. At the time of the traffic stop, Mr. Huynh had $50,000 cash on him. His money was seized but later, he was able to get it back. Again, does this sound like the America you know and love? Huynh`s story is not unique. A New Jersey insurance adjuster, George Reby, was traveling to Tennessee to purchase a used car. Mr. Reby had $22,000 in cash in his car when he was stopped by a Monterey Police Officer. The police officer said that Mr. Reby could not prove that he wasn`t going to use the money to buy drugs, so under the Tennessee Civil Asset Forfeiture law, Mr. Reby`s $22,000 was seized. The police officer says he forgot that Mr. Reby informed him that he was on his way to purchase a car, so he left it out of his report. Reby was able to get his money back about a year later but only after signing away his right to sue in a court of law. It’s sad, but these stories do not end with Mr. Reby. A hardworking lady that cleans houses for a living was stopped on I-40 in West Tennessee. She had worked for months to save for a trip to visit her family. At the time of the traffic stop, she had $15,000 in cash on her. Because she could not prove she wasn`t going to purchase drugs with her money, her cash was seized. She had to cancel her trip and return home. She later got her money back but only after suing. This is America, where we are supposed to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. But now, law enforcement says you are guilty until you prove you are innocent. There is hope with H.B. 2428 and S.B. 2272. These bills will put a stop to civil asset forfeiture by requiring law enforcement to have an arrest and conviction BEFORE you would have to forfeit your property. Call your State Senator and ask them to cosponsor S.B. 2272 and call your State Representative and ask them to cosponsor H.B. 2428 today! Click here to find your legislators. Then sign the petition to end civil forfeiture and “Policing for Profit” immediately. Signing this petition will tell your representative that you elected them to represent YOU and to protect YOUR private property rights. You did NOT elect them so they could fold to pressure from Sheriffs and Prosecutors who want to continue “Policing for Profit” and financing government confiscation of YOUR private property!