Civil forfeiture allows larceny by 'thugs with badges'
This is a piece by columnist George Will about the sickening practice known as civil asset forfeiture. The practice allows police to seize a person's property if the person is merely suspected of a crime. No conviction is required.
In other words, under civil asset forfeiture, you are guilty until proven innocent.
Here's a story last year from the Washington Post about how the DEA seized $3.2 billion worth of stuff in a year using civil asset forfeiture laws.