Chicago’s Vehicle Forfeiture Scheme Upheld By Seventh Circuit

Chicago’s vehicle forfeiture scheme for cars with unpaid tickets doesn’t violate the Fifth Amendment, a unanimous panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit found Monday.

Plaintiffs in a putative class-action argued the program isn’t a law-enforcement measure but a debt-collection mechanism by another name, and it harms people who can’t afford to pay tickets.

But, Judge Thomas Kirsch II wrote, just because someone hasn’t paid their tickets doesn’t mean they’re unable to. And booting or towing a car is an exercise of police power intended to punish violations, he said.

“The purpose of the forfeiture ...