by Steve Klein  The most recent reports from the Wyoming Attorney General to the Legislature that I discussed in a recent post paint a detailed but incomplete picture of cash seizures under the Wyoming Controlled Substances Act from 2018 through 2022. This is part of a practice called civil forfeiture, which permits the government to seize and...

We're thrilled to share that the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) has recognized our recent publication, shedding light on Wyoming's civil forfeiture laws. CEI's acknowledgment underscores the significance of our efforts for justice and transparency. Dive into the details by visiting the link and explore how our work is making a meaningful im...

by Steve Klein In the 2024 Budget Session, a bipartisan group of legislators sponsored a "Freedom from government seizure act" that was largely an updated version of a bill that passed in 2015 to replace civil forfeiture under the Wyoming Controlled Substances Act with criminal forfeiture. If either bill became law, prosecutors in the Wyoming Attor...

by Wyoming Liberty Group Staff The Supreme Court recently delivered a landmark decision regarding the constitutionality of civil asset forfeiture as it applies to the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Civil Asset Forfeiture is a mechanism law enforcement agencies use to seize property which they determine as associated with...

by Stephen Klein Wyoming's reform of civil asset forfeiture, which passed unanimously in the 2016 Budget Session, went into effect on July 1. Already, the reform has lived up to its name, which is illustrated by comparing two cash seizure cases—one that began before the reform, and one after. Asset forfeiture is a process by which law enforcement s...

by Stephen Klein The U.S. Department of Justice recently resumed the Equitable Sharing Program, which allows state police agencies to collect civil asset forfeiture funds under federal instead of state law by cooperating with federal drug enforcement. All too often, civil forfeiture laws allow for the government to seize and permanently keep allege...

Steve Klein and Glenn Woods from Boldrepublic.com discuss civil asset forfeiture in Wyoming and Senate File 14 (2015), which would reform Wyoming law to only allow for forfeiture of property after owners are convicted of a crime. 

LARAMIE – The Joint Judiciary Committee of the Wyoming Legislature voted to sponsor a bill that would substantially amend the Wyoming Controlled Substances Act today, by a vote of 12-1 (1 excused). The bill would eliminate the practice of "civil forfeiture" in Wyoming, which allows police to seize, and the attorney general to permanently deprive ow...

Last week, at the meeting of the Joint Judiciary Committee of the Wyoming Legislature in Newcastle, I testified in favor of two bills that, if passed, will reform the practice of civil forfeiture in Wyoming. Both bills would bolster due process and property rights that are currently at risk under the Wyoming Controlled Substances Act. Wyoming polic...

NEWCASTLE, WY – Wyoming Liberty Group staff attorney Steve Klein testified before the Joint Judiciary Interim Committee of the Wyoming Legislature today regarding two committee bill drafts that would substantially change the practice of civil forfeiture in Wyoming. "The Wyoming Controlled Substances Act currently allows police officers to seize pro...