surely this introduces a precedent for defence lawyers too though?
"My client did not buy the drugs. My client's money bought the drugs. If my client has no standing in civil forfeiture then he also has no case to answer in criminal proceedings"
The forfeiture is completely separate from any criminal investigation; in fact, it's possible for a forfeiture to occur in the complete absence of any criminal charges.
And that makes this so criminal. It's not just injustice, it is actual highway robbery. If states can't fix this, the federal government should. Allowing state officials to prey on out-of-state travellers sounds like exactly the kind of thing the federal government should prevent.
