Civil Forfeiture Procedure

Testimony in Support of HB 8105 - Civil Forfeiture Procedure
House Judiciary Committee
April 4, 2024
Hector G. Perez-Aponte, Policy Analyst, the Economic Progress Institute

The Economic Progress Institute supports Representative Place’s HB 8105, which would prohibit civil asset forfeiture regarding violations of the controlled substances laws until a criminal conviction is obtained.

Rhode Islanders deserve to be protected from having their property seized without due process of the law. This bill aims to address due process issues with civil forfeiture and the unfairness of seizing property based solely on speculation. Under current state law, law enforcement officials have a low burden of proof and can seize one’s property if they suspect that a crime has been committed.1 Police departments can eventually sell that asset and keep the proceeds even if the individual has not been convicted of a crime. To get that property back, the individual would have to prove that their assets were in no way obtained because of criminal activity. These cases are costly and inevitably result in individuals being unable to successfully contest the seizures or get their property back. According to WPRI, 38% of seizures in Rhode Island were for $1,000 or less. Nearly $15.7 million in property was seized by law enforcement between 2003 and 2013, according to public records obtained by WPRI.2 A 2014 WPRI report found that over $1.2 million in assets were seized in 306 cases in 2013, but fewer than half of those cases resulted in convictions. At a time where 61 percent of single adults and 70 percent of single parents with two children cannot afford to meet their basic needs, we cannot expect the average adult in RI to be able to successfully contest such cases. Furthermore, this presents an equity issue, as studies have consistently shown that Black and Latinx people are more likely to be stopped and/or arrested by police than their white counterparts, particularly for drug offenses, despite similar rates of use.3

Rhode Island residents should feel secure that the government will not seize their property arbitrarily. Enacting HB 8105 will make Rhode Islanders and their property safer. We urge passage.