...from Tenth Amendment Center Asset forfeiture is the process by which government confiscates a person’s property, generally after asserting it was involved in, or the proceeds from, a crime. Police often seize certain property as part of the investigative process. In many states, they don’t even have to make an arrest. They take any assets they suspect were used in criminal activity or that they believe were proceeds from a crime. For instance, officers could seize a car they suspected was used to facilitate a drug deal, or cash they thought somebody got from selling drugs. Once police seize property, it becomes subject to the judicial process. If the state prevails, it keeps the assets. How the case proceeds through the legal process depends on the laws of the state. There are two types of asset forfeiture: criminal and civil. In a criminal forfeiture process, police must first convict the owner of the property of a crime before the can permanently confiscate their prop...