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Massachusetts is an outlier when it comes to civil forfeiture laws

05:18

Shannon Dooling

October 27, 2021

In Massachusetts, trying to get one’s money back is so onerous, legal experts say it may violate due process rights under the U.S. Constitution. (Sophie Morse for WBUR)

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The civil asset forfeiture system allows police and prosecutors to take and keep money and property they suspect is part of a drug crime.

Many states have eased their civil forfeiture laws, but in Massachusetts, prosecutors are able to keep seized assets using a lower legal bar than in any other state.

Shannon Dooling of WBUR reports.

This story was a collaboration with ProPublica and was supported by the Pulitzer Center.

This segment aired on October 27, 2021.