Arizona Republic: Maricopa County attorney urges Ducey to veto bill that would reform civil forfeiture law
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Lauren Krisai, a senior policy analyst with Justice Action Network — a bipartisan non-profit advocating for criminal justice reform at the state and national level — disputed Adel's claim that HB 2810 would hinder law enforcement or invite criminal activity.
Justice Action Network, along with other advocacy groups such as the Goldwater Institute, Institute for Justice and The Free Enterprise Club, helped draft HB 2810.
During a phone interview on Tuesday, Krisai told The Arizona Republic that 16 other states require a criminal conviction before property can be forfeited while three — including fellow border state New Mexico — have abolished civil asset forfeiture entirely.
"Drug use and crime has not proliferated in these states following the passage of their laws," Krisai said. "So we don't believe it will in Arizona either."
Krisai also disputed Adel's claim that HB 2810 would prohibit law enforcement from seizing assets it suspects were connected to a crime.
"This does not prevent law enforcement from doing their jobs," Krisai said. "They can still seize property that they are suspecting is connected to a crime. They just have to achieve a criminal conviction before they can permanently keep it."
She added that HB 2810 still allows law enforcement to hold property for years if that's how long the criminal case takes, but it can't keep it if said case doesn't result in a conviction.