ASSET FORFEITURE: NEW JERSEY
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Current Law
New Jersey Bill Reforms Asset Forfeiture, But Federal Loophole Remains
Bill Link: A4970
Effective Date: 1/20/2020
Overview: Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill that reformed the state’s asset forfeiture laws to require a conviction in many cases. But the proposed law leaves a loophole in place allowing police to circumvent stricter state laws by passing cases off to the feds.
Under the law, the state could not proceed with asset forfeiture in without a criminal conviction in most cases involving $1,000 or less in cash, or non-cash property valued at $10,000 or less. In cases that do not require a criminal conviction, A4970 would raise the evidentiary standard to complete asset forfeiture from “a preponderance of evidence” to “clear and convincing evidence,” a much more difficult threshold to meet.
While A4970 modestly reforms New Jersey’s asset forfeiture process, it fails to close a loophole and withdraw the state from a federal program known as “Equitable Sharing” which allows prosecutors to bypass more stringent state asset forfeiture laws by passing cases off to the federal government through a process known as adoption.
New Jersey Law Requires Strict Asset Forfeiture Reporting
Bill Link: S1963
Effective Date: 1/13/2020
Overview: Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill that imposes strict reporting requirements for all asset forfeitures in the state. This legislation takes a first step that could lead to substantive reforms, including closing a federal loophole that allows police to bypass strict state asset forfeiture laws.
The new law requires law enforcement agencies to report extensive details about asset forfeitures in the state including the type and value of property seized and whether someone was charged with a crime when the property was forfeited. It also requires agencies to report all cases adopted by the federal government. The law requires that information to be compiled on a publicly available website.
While passage of S1963 doesn’t reform New Jersey asset forfeiture laws, it sets a foundation to do so in the future. By increasing transparency, the legislation allows New Jerseyites to actually see the reality of asset forfeiture.
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Watch This
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Essential Reading
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Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged.
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s.