E.E. “Bo” Edwards III has worked for more than a decade to change what he says is the rampant abuse of civil asset forfeiture by the government.
In 1991, the 56-year-old Nashville, Tenn., lawyer, described by one colleague as the “grandpa” of the war on forfeiture, took up a case that led to the creation of a forfeiture task force by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL). He has lobbied Congress for years to make it harder for the government to seize property allegedly connected to crimes — seizures that are often unaccompanied by a criminal charge or conviction.
