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Right now in Michigan the government can take the personal property of private citizens even if the citizen has not been charged with a crime. It's called civil asset forfeiture, and it's the topic of a Mackinac Center Issues and Ideas forum.
Lee McGrath, Institute for Justice legislative counsel and managing attorney of the Minnesota office, served as a guest on the Frank Beckmann Show on WJR 760AM Tuesday morning.
McGrath says in the last nine years in Michigan $149 million in property was siezed. He says last year $24 million was taken. It involves cars, cash, homes and other property. The citizen must then go to court and litigate whether the property is guilty of being associated with an alleged crime.
The other panelists joining McGrath for the Wednesday event will be Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor) and ACLU of Michigan Attorney Dan Korobkin.
The event will be live-streamed and available for viewing at the link here.
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The Mackinac Center for Public Policy is a nonprofit research and educational institute that advances the principles of free markets and limited government. Through our research and education programs, we challenge government overreach and advocate for a free-market approach to public policy that frees people to realize their potential and dreams.
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