June 23, 2015 4:41PM 

# An Illustrated Guide to Civil Asset Forfeiture 

By [Adam Bates](https://www.cato.org/people/adam-bates) 

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This cheerfully drawn comic from the [Daily Signal](http://dailysignal.com/2015/06/17/cartoon-a-police-officer-seizes-2k-from-citizen/) does an excellent job highlighting the insanity of civil asset forfeiture. It begins with a quintessentially American premise: a young person setting out on his own, all wordly possessions in hand, to start a new life as an adult. Far be it from me to spoil the rest:

![Arresting your property](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/download-remote-images/dailysignal.com/150979617604/616info.jpg?itok=LnsppzRB) 

If such stories seem unbelievable (it is a cartoon after all), be sure and check out the recent all-too-real stories of [Joseph Rivers](http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/05/the-glaring-injustice-of-civil-asset-forfeiture/392999/) and [Charles Clarke](https://www.cato.org/blog/airport-pirates-find-bounty-college-students-life-savings), for whom this cartoon surely hits too close to home. Even they are only the [tip](http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/08/12/taken) of the [iceberg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kEpZWGgJks).

New Mexico has [taken the initiative](https://www.cato.org/blog/new-mexico-governor-susana-martinez-signs-civil-forfeiture-abolition-bill) to end this [inherently abusive](https://www.cato.org/blog/governor-hogan-civil-asset-forfeiture-inherently-abusive) practice once and for all, and there are active reform efforts underway in [California](http://reason.com/blog/2015/06/08/california-may-be-next-to-pass-police-as), [Michigan](http://www.mlive.com/lansing-news/index.ssf/2015/06/how_a_sex_toy_put_national_spo.html), [Montana](https://www.cato.org/blog/montana-reins-civil-asset-forfeiture), [Oklahoma](http://www.normantranscript.com/news/loveless-files-bill-to-ensure-due-process-in-civil-asset/article_9626cdce-f42b-11e4-acdc-0b95102463e6.html), Maryland, and others. But until every other state and the federal government join in, these incredible tales of legalized theft and [policing for profit](http://www.ij.org/policing-for-profit-the-abuse-of-civil-asset-forfeiture-4) will continue.

FreedomWorks recently released a handy [map](http://d7.freedomworks.org.s3.amazonaws.com/field/image/Screen%20Shot%202015-06-08%20at%2010.32.41%20AM.png) accompanying their [report](http://www.freedomworks.org/content/civil-asset-forfeiture-grading-states) on state forfeiture laws. How does your state stack up?

##### Related Tags 

[Constitutional Law](https://www.cato.org/constitutional-law), [Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies](https://www.cato.org/robert-levy-center-constitutional-studies) 

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