FORFEIT THIS LAW

The stories are all-too familiar: Someone suspected of a crime has his or
her property seized by law enforcement. Although the suspect is never
convicted of any crime, the property -- a house, car, cash, jewelry, guns
or other materials -- are never returned. The person is forced to spend
thousands of dollars in an effort to get the property back.

Two years ago, Congress placed new restrictions on federal forfeiture laws.
Now two Colorado lawmakers -- a Republican and a Democrat -- want to do the
same with the laws in this state.

Legislation being introduced by Sen. Bill Thiebaut, D-Pueblo, and Rep.
Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield, would require that in most cases a person
must be convicted of a crime before property can be forfeited. And it would
shift the burden of proof to legal authorities to demonstrate the
forfeiture is justified.

Some people in law enforcement object to such changes, arguing it makes it
harder to battle criminals, especially drug traffickers. But the proposals
are fair and do a much better job than current law of adhering to the
constitutional presumption of innocence.