Michigan Supreme Court Puts Another Dent in State's Abusive Forfeiture Laws

The history of civil forfeiture actually dates back to the British, with the British Navigation Acts generally recognized as the first such law. It spread to the U.S. colonies through "writs of assistance" and was part of the original legislation passed by the First Congress (to enforce taxes and customs duties). It was limited to that until Prohibition, when it was expanded to target bootleggers. After that success, it was expanded to target drug dealers generally and has since been used on a broad basis by law enforcement agencies without discretion.

There is still due process: the asset is accused of being used in furtherance of a crime, or the result of a crime, and the asset is required to prove that it was not. However, because this is a civil action, the burden of proof is simply "more likely than not."

Note that some states are pushing back against prosecutors' use of civil forfeitures where the defendants have not been convicted or even charged with a crime. In California, the Bar Association is reviewing proposals to sanction prosecutors for pursuing civil forfeiture in such situations (though, full disclosure: they've been reviewing these proposals for almost a decade...).