Feds limit asset seizures by local cops
By Robert O’Harrow Jr., Sari Horwitz and Steven Rich, Washington Post
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Friday barred local and state police from using federal law to seize cash, cars and other property without evidence that a crime occurred.
Holder’s action represents the most sweeping check on police power to confiscate personal property since the seizures began three decades ago as part of the war on drugs.
Since 2008, thousands of local and state police agencies have made more than 55,000 seizures of cash and property worth $3 billion under a civil asset forfeiture program at the Justice Department called Equitable Sharing.
The program has enabled local and state police to make seizures and then have them “adopted” by federal agencies, which share in the proceeds. The program allowed police departments and drug task forces to keep up to 80 percent of the proceeds of the adopted seizures, with the rest going to federal agencies.
In my long experience around law enforcement, asset seizures, particularly those from private individuals, have been the most egregious of any law enforcement abuses of power I’ve seen.
The driving force behind most seizures comes from the fact that seizures force a supposed suspect into a legal system where he or she is guilty until proven innocent. Once seized, with often the slimmest and most circumstantial (if even that)of evidence, the victim is on his own to take the government to court and win back his property – at his expense. Legal aid is rarely available to a victim of these abuses, and any attorney taking the case will usually take his fee off the top of whatever is recovered. If that fee is not likely to be covered by the amount recovered, good luck finding any representation. Many law enforcement agencies consider such action to be a “win.”
The victims of these seizures not only stand a slim chance of recovering any, let alone all of their property, they are very often not even charged for the crimes for which the property was seized to support. There is not even a pretext that the property was seized as evidence – it’s seized because it’s deemed to be possible evidence or at least illegal gains, but the seizure case and the criminal case will be heard in different, unrelated courts. If the criminal case is even filed. “Well, we couldn’t get him in jail, but at least we got his property,” is the philosophy of those who buy into that kind of “quality” police work.
I have personally seen large amounts of cash seized solely on the testimony of a narcotic sniffing dog. Has anyone ever researched to see the statistics on how many of the $20 bills in your wallet contain cocaine residue? Studies show that 90% of U.S. paper money contains cocaine residue. The dog probably knows that; the DEA and Justice Department certainly know that, even the judge probably knows it, but he can’t do anything about it until the bulk of that money is spent on a lawyer. And the uncharged defendant knows nothing about any of it.
Many law enforcement officers recognize this problem and are dismayed by it. I fondly remember a BNE (California Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement) supervisor being so annoyed by a DEA (certainly needs no introduction here) supervisor who decided to impound a car from a BNE suspect in which the BNE supervisor felt that seizing a junker car from a guy who was unlikely to be charged and for whom the car, of very limited value, was his only asset, and his only means to get to work, was simply wrong.
But even Narcs have consciences. When the contact, now on foot, asked the Tahoe Tribune for help, the BNE supervisor agreed to an interview over the incident. As he told me, “I’m pretty near retirement, and that (DEA) guy is an idiot.” After the article with the critical interview appeared, the car was returned. And, sometime later, the DEA supervisor was sent elsewhere. Whether as a demotion or promotion, I don’t know.
But Law Enforcement administrators, sometimes with the encouragement of their elected bosses (although other times without even the knowledge of their elected bosses) love the slush fund contribution to their office safes that is outside their budget, and can be used for personal projects.
Lastly, as much of a supporter as I’ve been, and continue to be toward our President, it’s long been obvious that that being a community organizer is far different than dealing with the obnoxious, self important narcissistic political officials that we empower to run our government. Just as our President should have taken strong action regarding humane emigration standards early in his term, so should Holder have taken steps to deter legal abuses, largely committed by the Feds, and then often imitated by local law enforcement, when not actually encouraged by Feds working with locals.
ASSET FORFEITURE IS NOTHING LESS THAN STATE SPONSORED TERRORISM. For the crime of helping to write and pass California’s historic medical marijuana law, my wife and I were raided and robbed by the North Tahoe Drug Task Force, at gunpoint. Twenty officers armed with laser guided assault rifles seized everything we owned, including all our office equipment and even our kid’s Christmas presents. I was even ordered to open my wallet and hand over all the cash to the Task Force Commander. Only after a jury refused to convict my wife and me were we able to apply to get our stuff back. It took over a year to get everything returned. Thankfully the North Tahoe Drug Task Force was immediately terminated and their Commander sacked after news of our being arrested hit the national media. Sheriff Ed Bonner later apologized to me personally for what Placer County and the Task Force did to me and my family.
Copper and Steve,
Thank you for your incites to the law enforcement and victim sides of this story.
In the late 1980’s I closed two of the first three escrows in America where RICO seized homes were sold to the public.
They would list the homes at a discount with the most powerful real estate brokers in town.
This made it economic suicide not to take the order. After the order was open any objection to the rail roading was met with a contempt of court threat.
I would go home at night and shower trying to wash the filth off of me.
The U.S. Marshals ordered title searches on most of the lake front homes in Douglas County. They would only go after the properties that were free and clear. I asked the woman in charge in Reno (I think her last name was Nash) if a home was used as a vacation rental and a small amount of pot was later found would they seize the home?
The answer was yes.
It is laughable when the Bummer AG Hold-up Holder, who said he stepped down, keeps issuing new orders. Are people paying any attention. How blatant is this gang of criminals? Drug dealers tend to collect a lot of real property and launder money heavily by buying property and toys and even businesses as in organized crime. For every person who thinks this tool shouldn’t be used there are the vast majority that realize this tool has a very important purpose and there is a thing called a court where a judge issues a search warrant based on probable cause for these type of searches. The court also is the place for someone to defend themselves from charges of anything they felt wasn’t legal. This is the system as it is and the law. The ability to seize suspected drug profits is very important and especially for use on the drug cartels and criminal gangs who distribute drugs. This is called enforcement of the law and, in my opinion, Holder has no respect for the law as shown by complete lack of action during the riots against the criminal mobs, it is for him a political stunt and an order from Insane Hussein and nothing more. This is their on-going war against the local law enforcement they dislike across the country just like their friends are doing, like Sharp-Tongue and The idiot Mayor in New York.
So it’s another beautiful day here in South Lake Tahoe. No snow, but at this rate I’ll be planting seeds in March! Growing wateremelons in SLT?
So it’s another day of the commenters here on LTN to hurl insults and begin the ugly name calling of other readers or those people they don’t agree with. You know ,the usual suspects and beyond our little community. Obama, our Government, the homeless, disabled veterans, children with impairments and learning problems, anyone that’s from another country, leftists, rightists, libertarians, socialists , single moms who are struggeling to get by while fighting for equality, people who have faith and those that don’t, Muslim haters and all the wide variety of racists, science deniers and so many others.
So let the games begin! On your mark, get set, ready, GO!!! Let the insults and name calling begin!!!
Enjoy your Sunday LTN readers and commenters. OLS
You made me laugh at this ,Thanks for making my day OLD LONG SKIIES.