The laws that let police seize cash and other property from suspected drug dealers are coming under fire from Tennessee legislators.

Some want to make it harder for police to seize people’s property without a trial.

Asset-forfeiture laws let police take cash, cars and other property from suspects — often drug traffickers — and then spend the proceeds on law enforcement. But
investigations around the country have uncovered possible abuse by police.

Agencies have been accused of taking massive amounts of money from innocent people. Asset-forfeiture laws then require the owners to show that they were not involved in criminal activity. 

The problem, say critics, is officers have too much discretion. They can seize property from suspected criminals with just a judge’s order. No one even has to be charged with a crime, much less convicted.

Groups as different as the American Civil Liberties Union and the Koch brothers-backed Americans For Prosperity have lobbied for changes to asset-forfeiture rules. Many Tennessee lawmakers are listening.

“It subjects some of our citizens to forfeiture when they did absolutely nothing wrong,” says Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville.

At a hearing Monday, the state Senate’s Judiciary Committee was urged to at least require a criminal conviction before letting police keep property. Opponents of asset forfeiture also said the state should collect data from each department on the property they’re seizing.

But Tennessee law enforcement officials are defending the practice. They describe abuses as rare, and without asset forfeiture, they say, drug enforcement teams will be hobbled.

“If you do away with asset forfeiture,” says Steve Jones, a prosecutor with the West Tennessee Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, “the criminals will thank you.”