In the Granite State, numerous citizens have faced infringements on their rights because of civil asset forfeiture abuse. Just as many other states have realized that asset forfeiture is being used as a tool to take away hard-earned cash and other such property from innocent citizens, New Hampshire must pursue change in the state’s policing laws. Fortunately, one such bill is making its way through the legislature to do just that.

A new poll surveying voters in battleground states finds broad-based support for justice reform. This comes as welcome news to the groups who have been working on this issue for the last year, providing as it does a counterargument to those lawmakers who continue to drag their feet.

Many states are awakening to infringements on liberty being committed through civil asset forfeiture, and Nebraska could become the latest to protect the rights of its citizens.

On Friday, September 18, the Bard Debate Union at Eastern New York Correctional Facility defeated the Harvard University debate team in intercollegiate competition. The significance of such a win highlights more than just the dedication and skill of the winning team, it establishes credibility toward the efforts behind the Bard Prison Initiative (“BPI”) and the idea that providing prisoners access to education is an option worthy of consideration.

FreedomWorks has written previously about how occupational licensure laws hurt the economy, small businesses, and people without the means to get a government issued license. However, occupational licensure is also a justice reform issue.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons is coming under some scrutiny from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). The two Kentucky Republicans recently introduced the Federal Prisons Accountability Act, S. 1784, which would require the president to appoint the director of the agency and subject the nominee to Senate confirmation under Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution.

Last week, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) gave his support to the SAFE Justice Act, a comprehensive bill that would make a number of significant and substantive changes to federal sentencing and prison policies that have contributed the boom in federal corrections spending. Boehner's support is the most recent and, perhaps, most notable example of the growing consensus on Capitol Hill for justice reform.

Perhaps one of the most frequent questions FreedomWorks gets from our grassroots community when they hear the many stories of innocent people whose property has been wrongfully taken from them by the government is, how a policy that so blatantly violates the Constitution came to pass? For many, civil asset forfeiture is a relatively new example of government overreach. When they hear the stories, they are outraged.