Courtney Jones

Summary-Critique Paper
This essay is about an article written in The New Yorker by Sarah Stillman on August 12,
2013 entitled Taken. Stillman writes about the use and abuse of civil asset forfeiture. Civil
forfeiture enables authorities to confiscate cash or property obtained through illicit means, and,
in many states, funnel the proceeds directly into the fight against crime. (Stillman, 2013) In the
article, she writes about a few specific instances in which police abuse their power through the
legal doctrine known as civil-asset forfeiture by taking valuables and/or cash without probable
cause. Although this law can occasionally aid in dismantling large-scale illegal operations and
gives police the ability to seize contraband and drugs, Stillman argues that there are three major
problems with it. Those problems are 1. Civilians dont need to be proven guilty, be charged of a
crime, or even be accused of committing one, (except in North Carolina) 2. The money, or
valuables, that are confiscated are sold or used by the police department, giving them incentive
to routinely target innocent working-class people, and 3. Those innocent people often dont have
the means to fight back. I completely agree with the authors point of view. Police budgets rely
heavily on forfeiture profits to survive; therefore, if they arent shutting down large-scale drug
operations on a regular basis they have motive to seize as much as possible.
State laws designed to go after high-flying crime lords are routinely targeting the
workaday homes, cars, cash savings, and other belongings of innocent people who are never
charged with a crime. (Stillman, 2013) The first example the author gives readers of this
corruption is the story of Jennifer Boatwright and Ron Henderson. They couple was driving with
their children to visit Boatwrights sister when they were pulled over for driving in the left lane

for too long; their vehicle was subject to search. No contraband was found, but they did find
cash. The couple was taken to the police station and threatened with charges of money
laundering and child endangerment if they did not sign their cash over to the city of Tenaha.
Tenaha has become notorious for stripping out-of-town drivers of cash and valuables without
clear evidence of contraband. The point of this story is to demonstrate that a person neednt be
found guilty to have their possessions claimed by law enforcement.
Most of the stories Stillman writes of are based in Tenaha, Texas. She writes as if this is a
nationwide corruption, but it seems that it is mostly practiced in small towns that people just pass
through. That being said, for this kind of corruption to be present anywhere is unacceptable. She
used a good example with this couples story; they were threatened with the custody of their
children to sign over their cash without any evidence of contraband. Stillman later quotes David
Guillory, a lawyer specializing in forfeiture cases, who said If you believe children are in
sufficient danger, they should be removed from their parentsdont trade that for money! (qtd
in Stillman, 2013). While she mentions that there have been many law enforcement budget cuts
that are a big factor in civil forfeiture abuse, she doesnt offer any possible solutions or speculate
why that might be. Her argument does, however, rely heavily on the fact that the police use
confiscated cash for their own departments.
A nine-page spreadsheet listing items funded by Tenahas roadside seizures revealed how
the money was spent: Among them were Halloween costumes, Doo Dah Parade decorations,
Have a Nice Day banners, credit-card late fees, poultry-festival supplies, a popcorn machine,
and a $1000 donation to a Baptist congregation that was said to be important to Lynda Russells
reelection." (Stillman, 2013) Lynda Russell is the defense attorney in Tenaha. The list also
revealed that Barry Washington, deputy city marshal, received a $10,000 personal bonus to his

$30,000 base salary from the fund (it was later revealed Washington received $40,000 in bonuses
overall). The police are directly benefitting from civil-asset forfeiture, which gives them
incentive to search as many cars of minor traffic violators as possible (in one case a man was
pulled over for simply driving too close to the white line).They seize any valuables, cash, and in
some instances even cars from innocent travelers with the threat of criminal charges if they do
not comply.
This kind of corruption can be seen everywhere from small-town police departments to
large corporations. For example, during the 2008 Global Financial Crisis banks received billions
of dollars in Government bailouts provided for by American tax dollars. The CEOs of those
banks gave themselves large bonuses with the bailout money. This is similar to the actions of
Tenaha police. Stillman does mention that corrupt civil-asset forfeiture is not a nation-wide
problem--it is more concentrated in certain areas. This raises the question of state vs federal
legislature. Should the federal government regulate forfeiture laws, or should state legislature
modernize the laws to become stricter? Many officers contend that their departments would
collapse if the practice were too heavily regulated, and that a valuable public-safety measure
would be lost. (Stillman, 2013) This is largely due to the fact that in many areas, profits made
from forfeiture can contribute to 40% of the departments total budget.
Often, its hard for people to fight back. They are too poor; their immigration status is in
question; they just cant sustain the logistical burden of taking on unyielding bureaucracies.
(Stillman, 2013) Owners of seized items often find that the cost of bringing their case to court
exceeds the value of the item. In the history of Tenaha, the victims happen to be
disproportionally African-American and Latino, some without permanent citizenship, making it

even harder and sometimes impossible to fight back. Civil forfeiture was created in the hopes of
taking down drug cartels and pirates.
Lee McGrath, of the Institute for Justice, says In reality, its small amounts, where
people arent entitled to a public defender, and cant afford a lawyer, and the only
rational response is to walk away from your property, because of the infeasibility of
getting your money back. In 2011, he reports, fifty-eight local, county, and statewide
police forces in Georgia brought in $2.76 million in forfeitures; more than half the items
taken were worth less than six hundred and fifty dollars. (qtd in Stillman, 2013).
As states have faced economic crises, their forfeiture statutes have become lax without much
regulation; it has become easier to seize property from citizens and use forfeiture revenue as they
please.
Although Stillman provides great detail and evidence displaying how the police abuse
authority to take advantage of the poor, there is at least one consideration she failed to factor in.
The police are not only preying on the poor and innocent, but also on the uneducated. It is likely
that white-collar criminals are highly educated; They are savvy enough to run highly profitable
illegal operations, and if caught they can certainly hire the best defense lawyers who may be able
to find loopholes to keep them out of prison and/or maintain possession of their fortunes. Most
ordinary citizens not only lack the financial capability to hire lawyers, but also lack know-how.
Stillman recalls a case in West Philadelphia where an elderly couples son had sold a trivial
amount of marijuana from their front porch. The couple was told they would be evicted from
their home of almost 50 years because of their sons crime. A lawyer on the case, Louis Rulli,
noted the system is designed to defeat anyone who isnt an expert in navigating its intricacies.

These are affirmative defensesyou lose them if you dont raise them; even lawyers dont know
about these defenses unless theyve worked on forfeiture specifically. Knowing that even
lawyers dont know how to navigate the intricacies of the system further proves this point.
Taken is a brilliantly written article. Sarah Stillman uses real-life stories of ordinary
people to attract the sympathy of the reader. Police and government corruption of any kind is an
important topic that should be a regular discussion among working-class citizens. It seems as
though the longer this behavior is tolerated and not forcefully opposed, the more corrupt it
becomes. The civil-asset forfeiture doctrine was created to keep the people of The United States
safe from harmful drugs and criminals, not to steal from innocent, uneducated, poor citizens for
personal gain.