Another chance to make things right

by Keli'i Akina, Ph.D., President / CEO Grassroot Institute of Hawaii

Imagine having the police seize your car because someone stole it and used it in a crime. Now the car’s gone, and there’s nothing you can do about it.

Well, that’s exactly what happened to Darrell Teixeira of Waimanalo. He wasn’t even home when his daughter’s ex-boyfriend took his 2000 Honda Accord to Makapuu, broke into an SUV and stole a bag, jewelry and some clothes.

Neither Teixeira nor his daughter were implicated in the robbery. The ex-boyfriend was never charged. And yet, law enforcement officials seized Teixeira’s car, sold it at auction and kept the money for themselves.

This disconcerting process is called civil asset forfeiture. In Hawaii, law enforcement can seize property allegedly associated with a crime, sell it and keep the proceeds — even if you haven’t been convicted of a crime or even charged.

If you think there is a potential conflict of interest there, you’re right. It’s a system ripe for abuse — and guaranteed to draw in innocent victims.

For years, government watchdogs and civil rights groups in Hawaii have tried to change this unjust situation. Back in 2019, a bill to do just that made it all the way to Gov. David Ige’s desk, but under pressure from law enforcement groups, he vetoed it.

The Legislature had pursued that reform after Hawaii’s own Office of the Auditor produced a report criticizing the state’s forfeiture program. Citing lack of transparency and poor management, it found that property had been taken from Hawaii residents without a criminal charge in 26% of the cases analyzed, and in 4% of those cases, the seized properties were not returned even though the charges had been dismissed.

The national Institute for Justice says Hawaii has some of the worst forfeiture laws in the country, giving it a D-minus. It singled out that our state not only has a very low burden of proof for associating a property with a crime, but also puts the burden on the property owners to prove they are innocent.

But now we have a new governor and another chance to make things right.

This year’s Legislature just passed HB126, which would limit civil asset forfeiture to only cases in which the property owners have been charged with a crime, and the charges must be filed within the first year after the seizure.

Ideally, the Legislature would have passed legislation that limits forfeitures to only cases in which the owners are convicted of a felony. Asset forfeiture reform also would be better if all sale proceeds from the properties seized were to go to the state’s general fund instead of those doing the seizing.

But still, this bill, if signed into law by Gov. Josh Green, would be a good first step toward a better forfeiture system, and lawmakers could certainly pursue more changes in the future.

Unfortunately, even this watered-down forfeiture bill is opposed by many in law enforcement. Their views certainly should be considered, but ultimately this is a question of fairness and fundamental rights.

We need to reform the state’s civil asset forfeiture system to be more transparent and protect innocent Hawaii residents. I hope Gov. Green agrees.

E hana kākou! (Let's work together!)