You’re driving to a job site when a police officer pulls you over for not using your turn signal. You explain you’re headed to Houston to pay for building supplies. The officer asks to search your vehicle and, unsure of your rights, you agree. He doesn’t find drugs or weapons, but he does find $6,000 in cash in your glovebox, which you were going to use to buy your supplies, and promptly confiscates it, claiming it may be linked to drug activity. You’re not arrested, and no charges are filed. A few weeks later, you get a notice saying your money has been seized, and if you want it back, you’ll have to go to court.
In Texas, law enforcement agencies have the power to seize money, vehicles, real estate, and other property they suspect is connected to criminal activity, even if no charges are ever laid. What was once intended to target drug cartels and organized crime has become a tool that, in practice, victimizes ordinary people. Texas civil forfeiture laws are among the most aggressive in the country, and they give police departments a strong financial incentive to use them whenever possible.
Under Texas law, when police seize property that is later forfeited in court, they get to keep, use or even sell it and spend the money. (District attorneys can also receive a percentage.) With millions of dollars at stake, this rule has created an environment where law enforcement decisions can be influenced by potential revenue rather than justice. Here’s what you need to know about it.
How Law Enforcement Profits from Forfeiture
Civil asset forfeiture has been described by critics as “policing for profit.” In Texas, that term rings especially true. According to reporting by the Texas Tribune and data reviewed by the Institute for Justice, millions of dollars are seized across the state each year. Unlike criminal forfeiture, which requires a conviction, civil forfeiture allows police to take property based on suspicion alone. Innocent owners must then prove in civil court that their property was not connected to illegal activities.
This reversal of due process puts enormous pressure on low-income individuals who may lack the resources to hire a Texas civil asset forfeiture lawyer and fight back. Legal representation fees often exceed the value of the property, and deadlines to respond to seizure notices are short.
The financial incentive for law enforcement creates a troubling conflict: the more officers seize, the more their department benefits. In some cases, departments have come to rely on this revenue to cover budget gaps, and, without strict oversight or spending limits, forfeiture funds may be used on questionable purchases. Critics argue that this dynamic skews priorities and encourages targeting people based on what they’re carrying, rather than what they’ve done.
Common Ways Civil Asset Forfeiture Is Abused
As we explained at the beginning, civil asset forfeiture gives Texas police departments broad discretion to seize property, even without filing criminal charges. This authority has led to recurring patterns of misuse. Investigations by watchdog organizations, including the Institute for Justice and Texas Appleseed, along with findings from legislative hearings and news reports, have exposed practices that violate basic expectations of fairness and due process.
Highway Interdiction and Cash Seizures
Law enforcement officials along Texas highways frequently stop out-of-state drivers and seize cash on suspicion of drug trafficking, even when no drugs are found. According to a Texas Tribune investigation of 2016 civil asset forfeiture cases, officers seized nearly $10 million and 100 vehicles in just six months. Half of all cash seizures were under $3,000, and about 40% began with traffic stops. A separate Texas Tribune report noted Texas police confiscated over $50 million via forfeiture in 2017.
Pretextual Traffic Stops
Officers may stop motorists for minor violations like a broken tail light or failure to signal, then use the opportunity to search the vehicle. If valuables or cash are found, they may initiate forfeiture based on vague claims of “suspicious behavior.” In Tenaha, Texas, the ACLU documented traffic stops that disproportionately targeted Black and Latino travelers, where officers demanded money (sometimes threatening arrest or child removal) without any drug-related charges.
Generic Affidavits and Boilerplate Language
In some counties, prosecutors file forfeiture petitions using nearly identical affidavits across hundreds of cases. These documents frequently accuse innocent individuals of using property in connection with criminal activity, without offering facts unique to the case. The Institute for Justice’s “Policing for Profit” report critiqued this tactic as an abuse of due process and a shift in the burden of proof onto innocent property owners.
Coerced Waivers of Property Rights
Civil rights organizations have shown law enforcement officials presenting property owners with “voluntary” waiver forms immediately after a seizure. These come without any explanation beforehand and pressure worried people into signing away their rights to challenge the forfeiture.
Inadequate Reporting and Oversight
Texas civil asset forfeiture law requires law enforcement agencies to submit annual reports on forfeiture activity to the Attorney General’s Office. But those reports only cover a few data points: what was seized, its monetary value, and how the money was spent.
According to Texas Appleseed’s 2023 issue brief, these reports include just four of the 20 transparency metrics recommended by the Institute for Justice, such as the location of each seizure, whether an owner was charged or convicted, and demographic data about the owner. Since agencies can comply with minimal reporting requirements and still retain full access to forfeited assets, the system leaves too much potential for abuse.
The Impact on Innocent Property Owners
Civil forfeiture harms people who’ve never been convicted of a crime. Often, those who lose their private property are those least equipped to fight back: service workers, small business owners, travelers, and immigrant families. They may be pulled over, questioned, and simply told that if they hand over their cash or vehicle, things will go easier for them.
The Texas legal system makes it possible to challenge an aggressive seizure, but it’s not an easy route. Not only do you have to file your response by a certain deadline, but you may have to attend court and consider hiring a civil asset forfeiture attorney. In some cases, you never even receive proper notice. As a result, law enforcement agencies keep what they’ve taken through default judgments.
The emotional and financial toll can be devastating. Losing a vehicle may mean losing a job. Losing a few thousand dollars could mean losing a lease or falling behind on child support. In cases where children are involved, families may face consequences that go far beyond the dollar value of the seizure. These aren’t theoretical outcomes: they’ve appeared time and time again for over a decade, and there’s no sign of it stopping soon.
Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Efforts
The push to reform civil asset forfeiture in Texas has been building for over a decade. Lawmakers across the political spectrum have proposed legislation to limit or overhaul the practice, citing concerns about due process, racial profiling, and the financial incentives tied to enforcement. Despite growing public support, most of these legislative efforts have stalled due to resistance from law enforcement agencies and district attorneys who defend forfeiture as a useful enforcement tool.
As of 2025, Texas law does not require any conviction (or even an arrest) for police authorities to file a civil forfeiture petition. House Bill 182, introduced in 2019, would have required the state to prove its case in criminal asset forfeiture proceedings using a “clear and convincing evidence” standard, rather than the lower “preponderance of evidence” threshold. It also proposed limits on when agencies could transfer seized property to federal authorities. The bill passed the Texas House with bipartisan support but died in the Senate committee and never became law.
Grassroots pressure has played a key role in pushing the issue forward. News coverage of abuse, combined with forfeiture lawsuits and public hearings, has helped raise awareness among voters. The more the public learns about how civil forfeiture works in practice, the harder it becomes for lawmakers to defend the current system. For many Texans, the idea that you can lose your property without being convicted of a crime is simply unacceptable.
How You Can Hold Law Enforcement Accountable
Recovering property after a civil forfeiture isn’t easy. Texas law puts the burden on the property owner to fight back quickly, and too many people lose by default simply because they don’t understand the system or believe they can’t afford the time and cost of litigation.
A Houston civil asset forfeiture attorney like Amanda Skillern can help you push back aggressively against weak or unlawful asset seizures. When you hire our law firm, you benefit from the following:
- Quick Response to Legal Notices: Civil forfeiture notices come with strict deadlines. If you don’t respond in time, you could automatically lose your property. Amanda Skillern helps clients understand what the notice means and files timely, accurate responses to preserve their individual rights in court.
- Thorough Investigation of the Seizure: Many forfeitures begin with routine traffic stops. If police violated your constitutional rights during the stop or search, an experienced attorney can raise those legal process issues in court. Amanda Skillern has spent years examining reports and bodycam footage to identify constitutional violations that may justify dismissing the case entirely.
- Demonstration that the Property Was Lawfully Owned: To win a forfeiture lawsuit, it helps to present clear evidence that your cash, car, real property or other belongings came from a legal source. Amanda Skillern works with clients to gather financial records, pay stubs, receipts, and witness testimony that support a lawful explanation for the property.
- Negotiating the Return of Seized Property: In some cases, law enforcement agencies may be willing to settle or return items to avoid litigation. Amanda Skillern can negotiate directly with prosecutors to resolve the case without drawn-out proceedings.
- Holding Police Accountable for Abusive Practices: If you were coerced into signing a waiver, denied notice, or targeted unfairly, your attorney can raise those concerns with the court or report misconduct to appropriate oversight bodies. Amanda Skillern knows how and where to document these forfeiture practices to help expose patterns of abuse.
Asset forfeiture cases can sometimes lead to additional issues. Having a criminal defense attorney means you have someone watching out for your rights, your record, and your future. As a criminal defense attorney, Amanda Skillern ensures her clients aren’t left vulnerable during or after the case.
Fighting Asset Forfeiture in Texas? Call Us!
Civil asset forfeiture gives police the power to take your property based on suspicion alone. The problem is that the people most affected are not running a criminal enterprise. They’re ordinary Texans: truck drivers, laborers, small business owners, and families. Many lose money, vehicles, or other valuables without ever being charged, and most don’t have the resources to fight back.
Attorney Amanda Skillern works every day to help people fight abuse of forfeiture and hold law enforcement accountable. With years of experience as both a prosecutor and defense attorney, she knows how these cases unfold and how to respond to both planned and unplanned challenges. If your property has been taken by police in Texas, act now. The deadlines are short, but you still have rights. Call the Law Office of Amanda Skillern at 346.291.0432 or contact us online to request a confidential consultation.
Related: Seizure of Bitcoin for Civil Asset Forfeiture
Contrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not simply random text. It has roots in a piece of classical Latin literature from 45 BC, making it over years old. Richard McClintock, a Latin professor at Hampden- Sydney College in up one of the more obscure Latin words, consectetur.
