,i  #aacth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #ehdg  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,december #aj1 #bjad 
,mr4 ,stockman introduced the following 
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on the ,judiciary  ,a ,,bill 
,to abolish civil asset forfeiture to   
the ,federal ,government4  #a4 ,short   
title  ,this ,act may be cited as the   
,fifth ,amendment ,restoration ,act of  
#bjad4  #b4 ,findings ,congress finds as
 follows3 7#a7 ,civil asset forfeiture  
is the seizure of private property by   
the government without due process of   
law4 ,law enforcement officers routinely
 seize money1 financial assets and      
possessions simply by asserting their   
intuition or belief that the assets or  
property are connected to some 7often   
unspecified7 illegal activity4  7#b7    
,the burden of proof in asset forfeiture
 proceedings is placed entirely on the  
owner to prove his innocence1 instead of
 the government to prove guilt4  7#c7   
,seized property is often not returned1 

even if the owner is never convicted of 
a crime4 ,property is often seized      
without even charging owners with a     
crime4  7#d7 ,many people cannot afford 
to fight in court to restore rightful   
ownership of their property4  7#e7      
,instead of returning property to its   
rightful owners1 police and agencies    
often retain seized property for their  
own use1 or sell seized property and    
keep the income1 creating a vested      
incentive to seize property for         
salaries1 vehicles1 and perks1 giving   
rise to the euphemism1 policing for     
profit4  7#f7 ,courts of justice are the
 proper and legal venue to determine if 
property is stolen or used in the       
commission of a crime1 not individual   
police officers or public officials4    
,stolen property should always be       
returned to its lawful owners1 and not  
become the property of police           
departments4  7#g7 ,the ,fifth          
,amendment of the ,united ,states       
,constitution states1 ,no person shall  

be ''' deprived of life1 liberty1 or    
property1 without due process of law4   
7#h7 ,the abolition of civil asset      
forfeiture restores the ,fifth          
,amendment right to not be deprived of  
property without due process of law4    
#c4 ,abolition of civil asset forfeiture
  7a7 ,in general ,except as provided in
 subsection 7c71 no property may be     
forfeited or seized under any civil     
asset forfeiture law4  7b7 ,prohibition 
on adoptive seizures ,no ,federal agency
 may participate in or benefit from any 
multiple-jurisdiction1 equitable        
sharing1 or shared civil asset          
forfeiture program with any ,state or   
local government1 nor accept or adopt   
property seized by a ,state or local    
government4  7c7 ,rules of construction 
7#a7 ,contraband ,nothing in this ,act  
shall prohibit the forfeiture or seizure
 of contraband1 including anything      
prohibited by law from being imported or
 exported1 and nothing in this ,act     
shall prohibit the forfeiture or seizure

 of anything the possession of which is 
a crime4  7#b7 ,criminal seizures       
,nothing in this ,act shall prohibit the
 forfeiture or seizure of property if   
the owner of that property has first    
been convicted of a criminal offense    
that makes the property subject to      
forfeiture or seizure4  7d7 ,remedy for 
property not lawfully seized ,property  
unlawfully seized in violation of this  
,act shall be restored to the owner of  
that property with all deliberate speed4
  7e7 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7  
,civil asset forfeiture law ,the term   
civil asset forfeiture law means any    
provision of ,federal law providing for 
the seizure or forfeiture of property   
other than as a sentence imposed upon   
conviction for a criminal offense4  7#b7
 ,property ,the term property includes  
anything owned by a person or entity    
including real property and personal    
property including financial assets and 
commonly held property owned by more    
than one person4