Posted on 06/26/2020 10:48:41 AM PDT by RandFan
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), Angus King (I-ME), Mike Crapo (R-ID), and Mike Lee (R-UT) reintroduced the bipartisan Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration (FAIR) Act, S. 4074, to protect property owners’ rights, defend innocent Americans, and restore the Fifth Amendment’s role in civil forfeiture proceedings.
“The federal government has made it far too easy for government agencies to take and profit from the property of those who have not been convicted of a crime. The FAIR Act will uphold the Fifth Amendment and ensure government agencies no longer profit from taking American citizens’ property without due process. It will guard against abuse while maintaining the ability of courts to order the surrender of proceeds of crime,” said Sen. Paul.
“Any seizure of property must be based on clear and convincing evidence,” said Sen. King. “When financial motivations are allowed to enter the decision-making process associated with civil asset forfeiture, we run the risk of losing our focus on the pursuit of justice. This is unacceptable – it is past time to reform these laws, and refer to the due process principles that are enshrined in the Bill of Rights.”
“Requiring Americans to prove their property should not have been taken by the government, rather than the government proving guilt, undermines our system of justice,” said Sen. Crapo. “Commonsense restraints must be instituted to end civil asset forfeiture abuses. The FAIR Act would put the burden of proof where it should be — on the government, not innocent Americans.”
“While we certainly want to ensure that law enforcement has the tools they need to fight crime, the federal government should not be wrongfully taking our citizens’ private property and denying them due process under the law,” said Sen. Lee. “The FAIR Act provides some much-needed protections for Americans’ Fifth Amendment rights.”
Senator Paul will also offer this reform as an amendment to any police reform bill the Senate considers.
Take a look @ Link!
YES!!!
That would apply to Federal *and* state seizures.
Actually...instead of ten business days make that five business days.
No, make it the standard 48 hours/two business days that someone can be held in jail without charges filed against them. No reason to make it longer.
Occasionally their is an A/F done to a moron who thought they could carry over $10,000 in cash through an airport.
But the vast majority of forfeitures are done to drug cartels.
A legit traffic stop is made to a man in Oklahoma who is travelling from Texas to Illinois. He has $80,000 in cash and does not know why. He voluntarily surrenders the cash and walks away.
That is a typical A/F.
And believe it or not - I’ve had FReepers argue that even that goes too far.
Of course they are pro-dopers, so it kinda makes sense.
I guess you never heard of innocent until proven guilty, either that or you personally profit from this kind of thing.
I don’t think they can apply it to states (10th amendment) so the stealing will continue.
This is an issue that I hope Trump gets behind. That everyone should be behind. It’s a clear violation of due process.
So $10,000 is the magic number for you? What about $9,999? Would that be ok? What amount must it be for you to say it’s ok for the government to steal it from a citizen without conviction of a crime or even charges being filed?
The Police State, and all who profit from the ‘drug war’ will not be happy at all with this. I don’t expect it to pass, because there is just too much money in this pot.
The Feds rarely give up power... Will the Dems & most of GOP vote it down? Angus King is technically an independent so no Dems on the Bill...
Exactly.
Your property should not be guilty until you prove it innocent.
I'm glad that Senator Rand Paul and others are reintroducing this bill.
I think you’re right but it’s always nice to get them on record for all to see.
I remember when Henry Hyde was fighting this lonely fight over 20 years ago. Unfortunately, there is not much appetite in Washington to seize less private property.
It looks good, reasonably based on Congress’s 14th Amendment power to strengthen constitutionally enumerated protections.
From the 14th Amendment:
"Section 1: All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States [emphasis added]; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
"Section 5: The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article."
Insights welcome.
Send "Orange Man Bad" federal and state government Democrats and RINOs home in November!
Supporting PDJT with new patriot federal and state government leaders that will promise to fully support his already excellent work for MAGA and stopping SARS-CoV-2 will effectively give fast-working Trump a "third term" in office imo.
Indeed. Several states have already done this. To get around it, many police departments just bring in a federal agency on the "bust", so they all get a cut of the loot. This is one reason I really don't have a whole lot of sympathy for police in general. They've been acting like criminal organizations for years.
It’s not a 10th amendment issue, it’s a 4th amendment issue. That is the contract that all states that joined the union signed on to. What warrant is there to seize cash that someone is transporting? Whether it was obtained legally or not, that’s something to be determined after an investigation.
YES!!
Due process!!
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