Civil Asset Forfeiture Is The Jim Crow Holdover You Didn't Know Was Happening

Okay. So, here's the deal. Jim Crow is still alive and well in a twist that is literally shocking to no one. While the south is openly racist, the rest of America is just better at hiding their inherent Jim Crow tendencies. Just look at America's most recent political election. 

One of the most egregious Jim Crow hold overs is civil asset forfeiture. This means that law enforcement officers can take money that they find either on your person or in your home after being granted to do a search (either by vehicle stop or search warrant). 

For example, let's say a policemen pulled you over because you were speeding. They "suspect" that you have drugs of some kind and ask you to step out of your car. While patting you down, they find a roll of hundreds that totals one thousand dollars. Even if they do not find drugs, police officers are still allowed to take your hard earned cash. Ridiculous, right?

In Alabama, civil asset forfeiture brings in more than two million dollars to law enforcement agencies across the state. The number is even more horrifying when you look at the national numbers. As a means to crack down on drugs in the 1970s - a way to incarcerate African Americans if you remember correctly and yet another Jim Crow holdover - civil asset forfeiture brought in ninety-four million dollars. Now, that number is over four billion. 

In a case in Alabama where the Southern Poverty Law Center spearheaded the defense, a migrant Mexican worker was returning home to Mexico to buy and farm land. He was pulled over by local police for swerving out of his lane. He had twenty-thousand dollars on his person, the money he was going to use to fulfill his dream. The police did not give him a ticket but did take his money. Luckily, the SPLC worked tirelessly to get this man's money back. He did. 

Most of the time, civil assets are under a thousand dollars and a too small to really go after in court. Legal costs will outweigh the forfeited money. As a result of this along with fear, many civil assets are forfeited and are never seen again, creating massive profits for law enforcement officers. 

How is this not considered theft?!?