Forfeiture news: Virginia House of Delegates votes for landmark forfeiture reform; Rand Paul to vote against Lynch over forfeiture; Colorado legislature delays forfeiture debate; more.
The ACLU celebrates Virginia House of Delegates 92 to 6 vote to require a conviction or plea agreement before property can be forfeited under Virginia law -- available here. Text of HB 1287 available here. HB 1287 will move to Virginia's Senate next.
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) says that he'll oppose confirmation of Loretta Lynch over her support of asset forfeiture, troubling responses to Senator Mike Lee's (R-UT) questions concerning forfeiture -- available here. Cato's Adam Bates further explored Ms. Lynch's responses here.
Colorado Senators have delayed debate of legislation aimed at restricting the availability of civil forfeiture in Colorado -- available here. Text of CO Senate Bill 6 available here.
The Mercury News and the San Francisco Chronicle detail an appellate panel's skeptical reaction to Oakland's arguments that it has standing to fight the Harborside Health Center forfeiture via the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) -- available here and here. I briefly previewed the oral arguments here. Video of the oral arguments is available here.
Virginia State Asset Forfeiture Data 2008-2013
Jon Davenport of the The Virginian-Pilot has compiled a database of asset forfeiture revenues in Virginia, available here.