"The cases in many states are framed in such a way that the neck itself is the defendant and the person using it to connect their head to their body has no standing in the case. This makes it procedurally impossibly to contest the beheading."

You describe a farce that the current generation of police, legislators, district attorneys, and judges have decided to entertain because they grew too friendly & were never invested in the principles they claim to serve. It is not a victimless show they are putting on.

I mean, the words in your statement make some sense in that each one is related to the next concept in the sentence, but together they are a satire of Constitutional and common law.

surely this introduces a precedent for defence lawyers too though? "My client did not buy the drugs. My client's money bought the drugs. If my client has no standing in civil forfeiture then he also has no case to answer in criminal proceedings"

The forfeiture is completely separate from any criminal investigation; in fact, it's possible for a forfeiture to occur in the complete absence of any criminal charges.

And that makes this so criminal. It's not just injustice, it is actual highway robbery. If states can't fix this, the federal government should. Allowing state officials to prey on out-of-state travellers sounds like exactly the kind of thing the federal government should prevent.