The government already has shown a willingness to exploit loopholes, sidestepping the requirement to produce clear and convincing evidence. Property owners like Johnson will not be safe unless their rights are guaranteed with airtight language, and courts show a willingness to restrict policing for profit.

An Arizona Supreme Court ruling January 11 allows police to obtain information about people’s internet activity and identity without first getting a search warrant, making it easier for the government to see what most consider to be private information about their online habits.

Police who patrol Arizona communities should focus on criminals, not cash. Current laws encourage the reverse, making everyone a potential ATM for cash-strapped agencies.

If there’s a professional license, there’s probably an Arizona lawmaker who wonders if it should exist.

Profits from seized property are paying for the latest update to a study of Arizona’s prison population that prosecutors use to argue Arizona’s sentencing laws are working appropriately.

A wide-ranging measure to reform the state’s civil asset forfeiture laws would scrap the current standard that requires prosecutors to prove only by a “preponderance of the evidence” that the property is linked to a crime. That standard essentially means it is more likely than not, akin to a 51-49 percent balance.

State laws allowed Arizona law enforcement agencies to seize nearly $200 million in personal property during the past five years – almost all of it cash – from people who may never be charged or convicted of a crime.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Reed v. Town of Gilbert, handed down just last week, was a unanimous victory for free speech. But that Reed was an overwhelming win has led some to downplay its importance.

A Senate panel said Wednesday that while civil asset forfeitures can be a valuable tool for compensating victims and funding police work, there are too many loopholes that can allow abuses.

A federal judge late Friday voided state laws requiring groups to register before spending money on campaigns - and with it, the reports they're supposed to file on who is behind all that cash.