Several members of the House Judiciary Committee voiced their support on Wednesday for a civil forfeiture reform bill (H.R. 1835) introduced by Committee Chairman Henry Hyde (R-Ill.)
“Some of our civil asset seizure laws are being used in terribly unjust ways and depriving innocent citizens of their property with nothing that can be called due process,” said Hyde, who announced that he will move quickly for Congressional passage of his bill. Hyde received bi-partisan support from many committee members, including Ranking Democrat John Conyers (D-Mich.), Barney Frank of Massachusetts (D), and Bob Barr of Georgia (R), all of whom have signed on as co-sponsors.
Under civil forfeiture laws, federal and state governments have seized billions of dollars worth of assets over the past decade. The law permits law enforcement to confiscate an individual’s assets, including both property and cash, if their exists probable cause that the assets may be derived from criminal activity or facilitated in the commission of certain crimes. The owner does not have to be found guilty or even formally charged with any crime for the seizure to occur. In 1993, Hyde reported that 80 percent of the individuals whose assets are seized by the federal government under drug-forfeiture laws are never charged with a crime.
“We cannot continue to unjustly take assets from property owners unlucky enough to be caught up in civil forfeiture proceedings,” Hyde argued. “Nothing less than the sanctity of private property is at stake here.”
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) agreed. “In the name of the War on Drugs, we have been surrendering our Constitutional rights wholesale,” he said. “The Gestapo should ask for [the] powers [permitted under current forfeiture laws,] not the United States Justice Department.”
The “Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act,” introduced by Hyde on June 10, proposes seven major changes in current asset seizure laws:
- It shifts the burden of proof to the government, rather than the property owner.
- It mandates that property owners who take reasonable steps to prevent others from using their property for illegal purposes can get their property back.
- It provides for the appointment of legal counsel for indigent owners.
- It eliminates the 10 percent cash bond requirement for those seeking to appeal government seizure actions.
- It grants property owners 30 days from the time of the seizure to contest a forfeiture — not the current 10-20 days allowed by law.
- It allows for the release of property pending final disposition of a case.
- It allows property owners to sue the federal government for negligence in its handling or storage of property.
NORML Executive Director R. Keith Stroup said that he supported Hyde’s forfeiture reform provisions. “The property and cash of individuals suspected of marijuana-related violations are often unfairly targeted for forfeiture by law enforcement officials,” Stroup noted. “Hyde’s bill puts some common sense limits on this abusive and runaway practice.”
For more information, please contact R. Keith Stroup of NORML at (202) 483-5500 or Forfeiture Endangers American Rights (FEAR) at (305) 952-0799. Copies of the “Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act” are available from NORML upon request.