Indiana’s Supreme Court has set a ceiling for the forfeiture of property used in a crime.
The court clarified how such property can be seized by the government, following a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year advising states that a ban on excessive fines applies at the state level.
Lower courts will now have to evaluate the excessiveness of possible forfeitures by reviewing the property’s role in the crime and the impact on the owner, as well as the owner’s culpability in the crime.