Civil forfeiture has its origins in customs law where a ship transporting contraband would be seized along with its contents. This was because in the 1600's to

Civil forfeiture has its origins in customs law where a ship transporting contraband would be seized along with its contents. This was because in the 1600's to 1800's it wasn't feasible to track down and punish the owners of the goods/ship in a foreign country assuming you could even figure that out. Of course the practice got expanded to contexts and situations that have nothing to do with smuggling because government will use any excuse to expand its powers.