I posted yesterday on the risk to communities of burdening law enforcement with a profit motive. Here’s an example, from Texas, of how distorted and unfair civil asset forfeiture can become. A news video describes the situation of a client of the Institute for Justice, Zaher El-Ali, whose Chevy Silverado was seized, even though he committed no crime. El-Ali did nothing wrong at all.
In the case of Harris County, Texas, El-Ali is not only without a truck, but he’s unlikely to get anything near the value he deserves, as he’s lost the use of the vehicle and the truck’s sale price is both uncertain and subject to processing costs, etc.
(From the title of the Harris County assistant district attorney in video, it seems that civil asset forfeiture is so lucrative to the county that they have an ADA dedicated to that role.)
Now you know, and I know, that El-Ali’s last name isn’t conventional, the way the surname Jones would be. He speaks with an accent. It doesn’t matter — he deserves fair treatment no less than someone more conventional in name or speech. Here, in small-town Whitewater, we’re a multi-ethnic community, just as El-Ali’s Texas county is.
It would be wrong and foolish to write-off the predicament of El-Ali: there’s sure to be more than one person in this situation.
No one should be.
Here’s the description accompanying the video:
Texas has some of the worst civil forfeiture laws and practices in the country, but a constitutional challenge filed today looks to change that. A Texas property owner is fighting back by challenging the governments forfeiture of his Chevy truck and in so doing, he aims to protect the property rights of all Texans.