U.S. State and Local Public Policies in 2006: A New Database

Abstract

This article introduces a new, public database of U.S. state and local public policies, now available at www.statepolicyindex.com. The database covers more than 170 different state or local policies, coded at the state level as of December 31, 2006, in most cases. We use principal components analysis and derive two orthogonal measures of state policy ideology, which we label policy liberalism and policy urbanism. Our policy liberalism measure passes several reliability and validity checks, while policy urbanism is strongly predicted by urbanization rate, percentage of African Americans in the population, and percentage of Christian adherents in the population.

Civil asset forfeiture, equitable sharing, and policing for profit in the United States

“…see generally, Edgeworth, 2008, Sorens et al, 2008and Worrall and Kovandzic, 2008 10. While the innocent owner defense in CAFRA is nearly universally agreed as progress, problems remain.…”

“…The method for distinguishing state asset forfeiture laws as reported in Table 1, Table 2 and Table 3 was based on the following research strategy. First, the authors reviewed the civil asset forfeiture statutes in each of the fifty states and coded each of these measures based on legal distinctions similar to those reported in Sorens, Muedini, and Ruger (2008). Next, the authors compared several existing sources (most notably Edgeworth, 2008, Sorens et al, 2008and Worrall, 2004 for each measure for all states to minimize errors.…”

“…First, the authors reviewed the civil asset forfeiture statutes in each of the fifty states and coded each of these measures based on legal distinctions similar to those reported in Sorens, Muedini, and Ruger (2008). Next, the authors compared several existing sources (most notably Edgeworth, 2008, Sorens et al, 2008and Worrall, 2004 for each measure for all states to minimize errors. Finally, each variable for each state was compared with the independent assessment by legal research staff at the Institute for Justice, a non-profit legal policy organization.…”

“…Prior research indicates that two statutory elements, the burden in innocent owner claims and the standard of proof necessary for the state to demonstrate that property is subject to forfeiture, are particularly important burdens to the state (e.g. Edgeworth, 2008, Hyde, 1995, Sorens et al, 2008and Worrall, 2004. Combined, these laws represent significant incentives and barriers for law enforcement forfeiture activities and are used as the major predictors of forfeiture activity in the present study.…”

“…In other states and the federal government, forfeiture laws are less restrictive, making it easier for the government to prevail and declare property forfeit. While some statutory variations are merely procedural and likely have minimal impact on forfeiture activities (see Edgeworth, 2008 for an exhaustive discussion of such differences), scholars and practitioners have identified several elements of forfeiture laws with important substantive and procedural implications (Blumenson & Nilsen, 1998;Edgeworth, 2008, Sorens et al, 2008, Williams, 2002aand Worrall, 2004. Prior research indicates that two statutory elements, the burden in innocent owner claims and the standard of proof necessary for the state to demonstrate that property is subject to forfeiture, are particularly important burdens to the state (e.g.…”