Taking Contraband Without Taking Our Liberties: Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform in Texas

March 6, 2014

Derek M. Cohen, Ph.D.

Derek M. Cohen, Ph.D, is the Foundation’s Chief Research Officer and Right on Crime Senior Fellow. Previously the Vice President of Policy and Director of Right on Crime, the Foundation’s criminal justice reform initiative, Cohen was instrumental in the passage of the First Step Act, federal legislation that borrowed from successful changes to prisons and sentencing that he had helped pass in conservative states. In addition to leading the Foundation’s work on criminal justice, he is also the lead researcher of firearms policy.

Civil asset forfeiture allows the government to take possession of an individual's property, even if no charges are ever filed. Under state and federal law, Texas citizens have more exposure than most.

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