Source: Institute for Justice
Latest Data: 2020
Contact: Institute for Justice, 703.682.9320

The Institute for Justice grades the 50 states on their civil asset forfeiture laws. Civil asset forfeiture is a controversial legal process in which law enforcement officers take assets from persons suspected of involvement with crime or illegal activity without necessarily charging the owners with wrongdoing.

The Institute for Justice ranks the states on a 12 point grading scale as a way to rank the states on how easy and lucrative it is for law enforcement to take and keep property—regardless of the owner’s guilt or innocence. The higher numbers equate to "better" grades and in turn lower abuse of civil asset forfeiture. The scale is as follows: A+ = 12, A = 11, A- = 10, B+ = 9, B = 8, B- = 7, C+ = 6, C = 5, C- = 4, D+ = 3, D = 2, D- = 1, F = 0. A more complete discussion can be found at the Institute for Justice website here.