Small Heroin Sale Tees Up High Court Test of Forfeiture Laws

A challenge to a rare legal scenario in which a federally protected civil liberty has not yet been extended to apply to state law enforcement will be heard Nov. 28 by the U.S. Supreme Court in a case that started with a $260 heroin sale, the Indianapolis Star reports. So far, Indiana state courts have said their hands are tied until the nation’s high court rules that the 8th Amendment’s protection against excessive fines applies to civil asset forfeiture by state agencies.

The case started when a self-described “junkie,” Tyson Timbs, was driving his $42,000 Land Rover he bought with an inheritance when he was arrested for selling heroin to undercover officers. Timbs pleaded guilty and forfeited ownership of the vehicle, even though the maximum potential fine for his crime was $10,000, the Star reports. Timbs’ actual sentence was home detention, probation and court fees. The libertarian Institute for Justice took up Timbs’ case and attracted amicus brief support for its case from both the liberal American Civil Liberties Union and conservative United States Chamber of Commerce.

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Additional Reading:
Federal Equitable Sharing – Asset Forfeiture Program | Federal Asset Forfeiture Abuse – Rucci Law | Policing for Profit Visualized: How Big Is Civil Forfeiture? (Institute for Justice) | Dirty, Sexy Civil Asset Forfeiture | Civil Forfeiture: How the Police Can Take and Keep Your Stuff | Two Minutes with Tim – Civil Asset Forfeiture (Ep13) | Dirty, Sexy Civil Asset Forfeiture | Maine Now Requires Criminal Conviction Before Property May Be Forfeited | Sanctions threaten to cripple Russia’s multibillion-dollar crypto industry | What Assets Can Be Seized in California? | Why It’s Impossible to Win a Forfeiture Case (Steve Lehto) | How police can take your stuff, sell it, and pay for armored cars with the money | Ending Government’s Civil Asset Forfeiture Theft of Property One State at a Time | U.S. Supreme Court To Hear Indiana Civil Forfeiture Case | Meet the Texas Lawmaker Fighting Trump on Civil Asset Forfeiture | This Week’s Civil Forfeiture Outrages (Ninth in a Series: Texas Edition) | How to Avoid Civil Forfeiture? | Condo board looks to evict buyer of heavily discounted 1MDB penthouse | Why are innocent people still losing cash, cars and even homes to police? | An Overview of Recent State-Level Forfeiture Reforms | After Having His Motel Seized by the Government, Victim of Civil Asset Forfeiture Reflects on His Fight | Civil Forfeiture Now Requires A Criminal Conviction In Montana And New Mexico | Loophole Lets Missouri Cops Keep Millions in Forfeiture Funds (and Away from Schools) | Professional Asset Forfeiture Defense Attorney