"We are enormously troubled by the government's increasing and virtually unchecked use of the civil forfeiture statutes and the disregard for the due process that is buried in those statutes."
-- United States v. All Assets of Statewide Auto Parts Inc. (U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, 1992)

"Along with property rights go responsibility, and the owners here weren't living up to their responsibility."
-- Acting U.S. Attorney James DeAtley in an interview with the Houston Chronicle after he seized a motel because the owners didn't do "enough" to discourage crime.

"The use of federal civil asset forfeiture by state and local law enforcement has made policing more difficult by undermining the respect for the law, distorting investigative procedures and impeding appropriate civilian oversight."
-- Letter from five former police officials supporting the  asset forfeiture reform bill

"We believe the government's conduct in forfeiture cases leaves much to be desired."
-- United States v. $506,231 in U.S. Currency. (U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, 1997)

"Much like a drug addict becomes addicted to drugs, law enforcement agencies  have become dependent on asset forfeitures. They have to have it."
--Gary Schons, former California deputy attorney general

"It is truly satisfying to think that it is now possible for a drug dealer to serve time in a forfeiture-financed prison, after being arrested by agents driving a forfeiture-provided automobile, while working in a forfeiture-funded sting operation.''
-- Former U.S. Attorney General Richard Thornburgh

"We had a situation in which the desire to deposit money into the asset forfeiture fund became the reason for being of forfeiture, eclipsing in certain measure the desire to effect fair enforcement of the laws."
--Michael F. Zeldin, former director of the U.S. Department of Justice's Asset Forfeiture Office

"When you want to change the burden of proof, you're cutting the throat, eviscerating asset forfeiture as a tool."
--Gordon Kromberg, assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, arguing that the government should continue to have the power  to confiscate property based on a hunch that it may have been involved in wrongdoing

No person shall be "deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation."
-- 5th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

Nice 'Vette, huh?  No wonder police and prosecutors like having the power to confiscate property they think can be linked to a crime.  They get to keep it.  But a bill now halfway through Congress would help curb the abusive government practices associated with civil asset forfeiture.

Cash, cars, boats, jewelry, homes, restaurants, farm animals -- you name it.   The government can seize it under a web of federal and state civil asset forfeiture statutes.  The concept originated in medieval England, where property responsible for an accidental death was forfeited to the king.  In recent years it has become a favorite weapon in the war on drugs.

Under civil asset forfeiture law, inanimate objects are accused of wrongdoing -- regardless of whether the object's owner is blameworthy in any way.   Most of the protections afforded to defendants under criminal law, such as the right to counsel, the presumption of  innocence, and the requirement of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, do not apply in forfeiture cases.  According to one analysis, 80 percent of people  whose property is seized under federal law are never even charged with a crime.

In 1984 Congress established the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund, which allows most of the proceeds from civil asset forfeiture cases to be returned to law enforcement officials.  Not surprisingly, this led to an explosion of forfeiture actions.  In 1998, nearly $450 million passed through this fund.

• When Willie Jones, a Nashville landscaper, paid cash for an airline ticket, city police suspected him of being a drug dealer.  They searched him, found no drugs, but seized the $9,000 he was planning to bring on his flight to Houston to buy shrubs for his business.  It took Jones two years and a federal lawsuit to get his money back.

• In 1998, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Houston seized a Red Carpet Motel, located in a high-crime area of the city.  While there were no allegations that the hotel owners participated in any crimes, the prosecutor claimed that the motel deserved to be seized and forfeited because management had failed to implement all of the "security measures" dictated by law enforcement officials, such as raising room rates. After several months of bad publicity, the U.S. Attorney finally returned the motel to its owners, who were never compensated for the loss of business or legal expenses.

• In 1993, Chicago police, acting on a tip from a burglary suspect, searched the family-owned Congress Pizzeria looking for stolen property.  They found none. But they did find $506,231 in cash, which they promptly seized from owner Anthony Lombardo. The government later argued that it should be allowed to keep Lombardo's money because he must have been involved in narcotics trafficking since most people don't have that kind of cash lying around.  It was Lombardo's burden to prove otherwise. In 1997, a federal appeals court issued a stinging criticism of the government's conduct in this case and ordered the money returned. 

Last month, prompted by these and countless other stories of abuses by law enforcement officials and growing concern in the courts that the government routinely tramples the rights of citizens in forfeiture cases, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act by an overwhelming margin. (375 to 48)

Among other things, the legislation would:

• Allow the government to keep seized property only after showing "by clear and convincing evidence" that it was used in or acquired through criminal activity (now the standard is "a preponderance of the evidence");

• allow property owners to recover their property if they can show that it was used for illegal purposes without their knowledge or despite reasonable efforts to prevent it;

• provide an appointed attorney for property owners who cannot afford one;

• extend the period for challenging a forfeiture; and

• eliminate the requirement that the owner post a bond.

But it would still permit the government to seize first and ask questions later, and it would leave intact what amounts to punishment without due process.

The bill is supported by a broad-based coalition including the ACLU,  the NRA, the Drug Policy Foundation, and the American Bar Association.  It was shepherded through the House by an unusual alliance of conservatives and liberals that included Henry Hyde, Bob Barr, Barney Frank, and John Conyers (list of House co-sponsors).

President Clinton further cemented his shoddy legacy on civil liberties by siding with the police and prosecutors who oppose the reform efforts.

The legislation has been sent to the Senate.   The Senate Judiciary Committee held an oversight hearing on civil asset forfeiture on July 21.

Asset Forfeiture Resources

Reason articles
Reason has called attention to the abusive nature of asset forfeiture law since the mid 1980's.  Here are some Reason articles available online:

United States v. One Assortment of 89 Firearms: Drug warriors are using an obscure medieval legal doctrine to sweep aside property rights and due process, by Stefan B. Herpel.

Ill-Gotten Gains: Police and prosecutors have their own reasons to oppose forfeiture-law reform, by Richard Miniter.

Anti-Theft Measure: The House passes a civil asset forfeiture reform bill, by Jacob Sullum, Creators Syndicate.

Police Beat: An account of the Cato Institute's conference on the asset forfeiture reform bill, by Michael Lynch.

Seizure Disorder: The Supreme Court rejects the government's forfeiture action in the outrageous case of Hosep Bajakajian, by Jacob Sullum, Creators Syndicate.

Rudy's Car Collection: Mayor Giuliani seizes the cars of accused drunk drivers, by Jacob Sullum, Creators Syndicate.

Seizure Slowed: The New Jersey Supreme Court rules on asset forfeiture, by Jeff Taylor.
(Also see I'll Take That.)

Sunshine Reforms: Efforts to reform civil forfeiture law in Florida, by Brian Doherty.

Winning by Forfeit: Recent court decisions limit state seizures, by Nick Gillespie.  

Dog Days for Forfeiture: Everyone's cash is drug money, by Brian Doherty.

A Vial Crime: Meet Sam Zhadanov, 68-year-old plastic molder and drug-war casualty, by Jacob Sullum.

Bringing the Border War Home: What will Americans pay to keep out immigrants?, by Glenn Garvin. (Includes a discussion of congressional efforts to expand forfeiture law to combat illegal immigration.)

Other Articles and Resources

Seizure Fever: The War on Property Rights, by James Bovard. (A comprehensive, well-researched examination of asset forfeiture law and abuses.)

Forfeiture Endangers American Rights (FEAR) Site includes an enormous amount of material, including legislative updates, legal resources, victim stories, and information for reform activists.

The Liberty Project Another valuable site devoted to civil asset forfeiture law reform which includes legislative info, news, and victim stories.

Forfeiting Our Property Rights: Is Your Property Safe from Seizure?, by Henry Hyde. (Links to a summary of Hyde's book.)

Forfeiture Reform: Now or Never? The Cato Institute's conference.

Due Process and Property Rights Must Be Protected. Congressman Ron Paul's press release supporting asset forfeiture reform.

Committee Report from the House Judiciary Committee on the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act.

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on civil asset forfeiture reform, which focused mostly on the law enforcement community's opposition to the reform legislation that passed the House (index of witness statements).

The House Judiciary Committee held hearings on civil asset forfeiture reform.  These statements urge reform:

• Henry Hyde, Chairman,  House Judiciary Committee

• John Conyers, Ranking Member, House Judiciary Committee

• Roger Pilon, Senior Fellow, Cato Institute

• Gerald B. Lefcourt, President, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

• David B. Smith, Senior Partner, English & Smith

• Susan Davis, forfeiture victim