On Tuesday, Nebraska got rid of civil asset forfeiture, a controversial practice that allows police to confiscate people's money and stuff without ever charging them with a crime. Other states, however, aren't so lucky.
As this map from The Washington Post shows, Nebraska is just the tenth state to require a conviction for property confiscation — which means that in the other 40 states, police can still take money and property from innocent people.
If you're subject to civil asset forfeiture, it's often very difficult to get your cash or property returned, because you personally are not accused of anything, so you have no right to an attorney and limited legal recourse. And we're talking a lot of money: In 2014, for instance, police took more from Americans using civil asset forfeiture than actual burglars did.
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