The Department of Justice and Department of the Treasury are interfering in a debate over a piece of legislation currently in the California Assembly that would close a loophole in the state's civil asset forfeiture laws. The loophole allows law enforcement to circumvent protections in the state's forfeiture laws by pursuing forfeitures in federal courts, which creates a serious problem for innocent property owners.

In its most recent session, the New Mexico Legislature passed a comprehensive bill aimed at protecting innocent property owners from government overreach. Prior to the passage of HB 560, the Land of Enchantment lacked significant protections for innocent property owners, which earned the state a "D+" from the Institute for Justice.

Joseph Rivers is a 22-year-old who has a dream of making a music video. With help from his supportive family, he persevered and saved, raising $16,000 in cash to leave his hometown in Michigan for Los Angeles to see his dream become reality.

As the second hand ticked closer to noon, the statutory deadline to take action on measures passed by the New Mexico Legislature, Gov. Susana Martinez signed a comprehensive bill to protect the property of innocent individuals by ending civil asset forfeiture in the Land of Enchantment.

A few hours ago, Governor Susana Martinez of New Mexico signed groundbreaking legislation to strengthen the protection of individual rights in her state. The bill, H.B. 560, requires a criminal conviction in order for law enforcement to be able to use civil asset forfeiture to seize private property.

It has been nearly two weeks since the New Mexico Legislature unanimously passed a strong, bipartisan bill to protect private property from overzealous law enforcement by banning civil asset forfeiture, and Gov. Susana Martinez has not given any indication as to whether she'll sign the legislation into law.

Outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder apparently wants to leave behind a legacy of something other than corruption and scandal. In a recent memorandum, he’s making an effort to rein in one of the most egregious abuses of power by the IRS: civil asset forfeiture.

Last weekend, in the final hours of its session for the year, the New Mexico Legislature unanimously passed a sweeping bill, HB 560, that effectively bans the practice of civil asset forfeiture, an egregious tool used by law enforcement in many instances to seize assets from innocent people without ever charging them with -- let alone convicting them of -- a crime.

The New Mexico Legislature passed a sweeping civil asset forfeiture reform bill last week to protect innocent people's property and due process rights. The bill, HB 560, effectively bans the pernicious practice, requiring a criminal conviction before property can be forfeited to the state.

In New Mexico, hundreds of high school students are walking out of class in protest of the new Common Core-aligned tests just implemented in the state. This is part of larger movement nationwide by parents and students to protest the standards, while without waiting for state legislatures to act.