It is no coincidence that police focus on the wealthy, instead of the drug houses which are the real centers of drug trafficking. The police will not fool around with dangerous crack houses if they can seize an innocuous millionaire's home.

The case of Donald Scott illustrates this point well. His residence was so valuable that federal agents, state officials, local police, and even the National Park Service rangers all wanted a piece of the action. They established probable cause by having an agent fly over Scott's estate; supposedly the agent spotted some marijuana plants.

It is difficult to prove that the raid was solely the product of greed, but the fact that the agents had obtained appraisals of the property before the incident may shed some light on the issue.

Attempts at seizing property usually do not end in deaths. However, the weak probable cause standard allows for numerous other injustices. For example, agents have seized homes because of crimes committed by previous owners. Because the government fanatically seizes every property that qualifies regardless of the owner's innocence, families are being punished for acts they haven't committed.

People from all sides of the political spectrum agree that our country's civil forfeiture laws are in dire need of reform.

The liberal ACLU supports conservative Representative Henry Hyde's bill, which places stronger, albeit still inadequate, restrictions on police power. Hopefully, this coalition will succeed in passing the Hyde legislation.

Americans often take their rights for granted. The government's current seizure laws point out the danger of this complacency. It's time to stop government abuses and reclaim the fundamental tenets of our justice system.