EDITORIAL: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas raises questions about civil forfeiture

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal in Leonard v. Texas. Nothing unusual in that. The high court takes up only about 100 cases each year out of more than 7,000 requests.

But as UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh noted in his blog this week, despite refusing the Texas case on technical grounds, one justice hinted that the law enforcement tactic known as civil asset forfeiture may be on borrowed time.

Leonard v. Texas involved an April 1, 2013, traffic stop of James Leonard. A search turned up a safe in the vehicle’s trunk and when Mr. Leonard and his passenger gave conflicting stories about what was inside, the police quickly secured a search warrant.

The safe contained $201,100 and the bill of sale for a Pennsylvania home.

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