Law enforcement has confiscated the homes, cars, cash and belongings of some 23,000 Philadelphians since August 2012, but we’re happy to report that the city’s abusive civil-asset forfeiture practices end today.
On Tuesday morning Philadelphia entered into two consent decrees, settling a class-action lawsuit brought in federal court by the Institute for Justice in 2014. The agreement improves due process, compensates past victims, and restricts when law enforcement can take private property and what they can do with it.
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