Administrative seizure and civil forfeiture proceedings are quasi-criminal processes by which the government takes control of property claiming that it is in some way connected with illegal activity and therefore subject to confiscation. While administrative seizure and civil forfeiture are technically not criminal actions, they are intimately connected to criminal actions and often precede or accompany them. The government’s burden of proof in a forfeiture proceeding is much lower than in a criminal proceeding. Moreover, the burden of proof may even be shifted to the claimant, who must then prove he has a legitimate claim to the property. Because the government’s burden of proof is much lower than in a criminal proceeding, courts may hold that property is forfeited by illegal activity even when the government cannot raise enough evidence to obtain a criminal conviction. This practice is understandably controversial because it arguably amounts to a criminal punishment without the protections of a trial. Moreover, many argue that local governments and law enforcement profit handsomely from civil forfeitures and thus have an incentive to make unwarranted seizures. Nevertheless, our courts and elected officials permit these practices and have even expanded their reach.