My daughter is doing civil forfeitures in drug cases in state and federal court, and the whole system is corrupt and needs to be scaled back. I understand on the big drug deal with hundreds of thousands of dollars, but a dui gets a car impounded and if a person does not have cash and is poor, they lose the ability to work, and may be innocent of the underlying charge. I am very uncomfortable with the current laws.
In Calif. they can impound your car for a whole slew of reasons including not having insurance. They can seize your car immediately and they charge a whole slew of fees. The poor don't have a chance.