Attorney General Sessions Issues Policy and Guidelines on Federal Adoptions of Assets Seized by State or Local Law Enforcement
Video at link
Is this all he can find to do?
sessions is a swamp creature.
He’s just doing what swamp creatures do.
Hooray!
Just as our Founders needed this tool against pirates and smugglers we need it against gangs.
But studiously avoid abusing it Jeff.
I daresay that this is not high on the lists of the majority of Trump voters.
transcript:
I want to thank all of you for attending. I see many faces that I’ve gotten to know over the years and in the last few months in particular and I especially want to thank our law enforcement partners like the Fraternal Order of Police, the National Sheriff’s Association, the Major City Chiefs of Police Association, the International Chiefs of Police group, and to many other officers from all over the country that are here today.
I know this issue of forfeiture is probably your top issue, a thing that you’ve talked to me most about and the thing that President Trump has indicated that he understands and supports you in. So thank you for your service to the country and all you do to make this a safer place.
As any of these law enforcement partners will tell you and as President Trump knows well, civil asset forfeiture is a key tool that helps law enforcement defund organized crime, it takes back ill-gotten gains from them, and prevent new crimes from being committed, and weakens the criminals and their cartels. It weakens the criminal organizations when you take their money and it strengthens our law enforcement when we can share it together and use it to further our efforts against crime.
Even more importantly, it helps returns property to victims of crime. Civil asset forfeiture takes the material support of the criminals and instead makes it material support for law enforcement.
Funding priorities like new vehicles, bullet-proof vests, opioid overdose reversal kits, and better training are all paid for by asset forfeitures. In departments across this country, funds that were once used to take lives are now being used to save lives and it removes the inner instrumentalities of crimes such as illegal firearms, ammunition, explosives, and property associated with child pornography from criminals, preventing them from being able to use these tools to further their criminal acts. President Trump has directed this Department of Justice to reduce crime in America. We take that seriously. I know that’s a challenge. We intend to meet it and I know you do too.
We continue to encourage our civil forfeiture whenever appropriate. We will do so. At the same time, we must protect the rights of the people in this country, the people that we serve, law-abiding people, whose property is used without their knowledge or without their consent should not be punished or taken because of crimes that someone else has committed. I know we all agree on that. We have to be careful and do this thing in the right way.
So let me just say, in the vast majority of cases this is really not an issue, the evidence is usually very clear. Our law enforcement officers do an incredibly good job. In fact, over the last decade 4/5 administrative civil asset forfeitures filed by the Federal Law Enforcement Agencies were never even challenged in court. They’re not challenging them because they were usually drug money, and they know it was drug money, and they have no basis to contest forfeitures. Even so, we want to take every precaution to protect the rights of claimants in cases that are contested in their legitimate defenses.
And so today, the Department of Justice is continuing issuing legal guidance that will clarify DOJ policy on the adoption of sized assets. It will return us to longstanding DOJ policy. That’s all were doing, is return to the policies that existed for over three decades, that I used, I was United States Attorney, many years ago. It’s also provide additional supplemental protections on law abiding Americans. This will make us more effective at bankrupting organized criminals and at safeguarding the property of law-abiding Americans.
Under today’s guidance, the federal government will not adopt sized property unless the state or local agency provides information demonstrating that the seizure was justified at the beginning with probable cause. We will accomplish this through a new adoption form that state and local enforcement must fill out before they agree, before we the federal government will agree to adopt property which will provide the kind of information DEA and the government would need to proceed with the case. Which will include necessary information that the Department of Lawyers can review carefully to make sure the case is proper. Further, law enforcement agencies who wish to participate in the Department’s equitable sharing program now must provide their officers with enhanced training on asset forfeiture laws so that we’re all on the same board and well-trained on that. The Department will adopt smaller seizures of cash between $5,000 or $10,000 for example, only if there exists some level of criminality or with the expressed concurrence with the United States Attorneys.
So when I was in the Senate, I worked with Senator Schumer. We had a battle over this issue. We made modifications in the law to provide better protections against possibilities of abuse. We required probable cause as the burden of proof for the seizure of the property. That’s important, it raised the standard that was then in place. And we raised the burden on the government at trial. And the government has the initial burden through the same preponderance of evidence standard that is used in virtually all civil law suits in America today. In addition, if the government lost the case our legislation would make it such that the government would then pay the attorney’s fees, of the claimant who won the case. We believe those programs improved in the safety and the effectiveness of the program at that time.
Further, to better protect claimants, the Department will expedite the review of civil asset forfeiture cases. State and local law enforcement agencies requesting federal adoption must do so within 15 calendar days following the seizure. That puts some pressure on your officers, but they should be able to do that in 15 days. And we don’t want to be holding money and waiting for months for some sort of evidence to come in. We need to move on these cases so a defense can be prepared if necessary. The adopting federal agency must then send notice to interested parties within 45 days of the seizure. That cuts our time. So this is twice as fast a review as required by the statue, the law. This streamline process will ensure that people receive speedy resolutions on their cases and that rightful owners would get the property back as soon as possible.
In addition to these safeguards on federal adoptions, I’m asking our Department attorneys to proceed with caution when handling forfeitures involving vehicles and residences especially if those vehicles or residences are in different names. We just need to be careful how we handle that. Some of the complaints have revolved around those kind of cases. I think the Department of Attorneys should think hard before they handle these kind of cases, and we’re directing them to do just that. Just like with the cash seizures, if we operate this program in careful and responsible way, something I believe the American people expect and deserve, with a program like this, the Department’s federal asset forfeiture program will be an effective tool while at the same time protecting the rights of property owners.
Finally, I’m directing agencies and components adopting seized property to prioritize assets that will most effectively affect our overall goal of reducing violent crime. We need to send a clear message that crime does not pay. This policy is effective immediately and applies to all new requests for adoptions by our state and local officials. With this new policy, the American people can be confident knowing we are following the law and are taking action to defund criminals, and at the same time protecting the rights of law-abiding citizens.
Thank you all for being here. I appreciate the opportunity to work with you in partnership. We are well aware that 85% of law officers are state and local law officers, and this partnership is so many advantages, forfeiture sharing bonds us even tighter, and makes these partnerships and task forces work. As you all know, and that’s why you’ve been so clear that the Department of Justice move in this direction. I’m really proud of Rod Rosenstein, my Deputy Attorney General. He’s had 27 years in the Department, 12 as United States Attorney. He knows these issues exceedingly well, has worked with them all for many many years.
Cops can Smash & Grab. signed Jeffery Sessions.
after watching Obama pee all over the Constitution for 8 years, I was hoping that we might someone who has read it.
I need to know what Clarence thinks.
Does he think this is one of the president’s priorities?
Hasn’t he listened to any of the president’s speeches and campaign promises?
Sessions is great.
I think Trump is deliberately misdirecting the media again.
Seize Mexican cartel assets to fund the wall.
thanks for the post. listened carefully to Jeff’s statement and rationale for it. i personally can’t find any fault in it or what he says about it whatsoever.
it sounds as if he’s consulted *all* stakeholders (unlike say healthcare in congress) in the issue. he’s tightening the protections in the program against wrongful seizure and abuse, including the claims processing to return assets to their rightful owners when applicable, what can be seized requiring the constitutional standard of “probable cause” only. all this while making sure as he says that “crime doesn’t pay” and fund criminal syndicates, drug gangs and organized crime, and is used to fund law enforcement against such entities.
i suppose you can argue about the program’s existence, but if it has to exist, then i’m glad Jeff is managing it.
This civil forfeiture business seems patently unconstitutional to me and I hope a case goes to SCOTUS and they knock it down. Way too much abuse is highly likely.
The only guidance Sessions & the Trump administration should follow on this matter is the Fourth Amendment.
Has anyone yet to consider that Sessions is deep state and his unbelievable recussial was part of the plan to destroy Trump?
I bet this is a precursor to the feds confiscating a bunch of cash from pot store owners in Washington State, Colorado and others.
My home state of Oregon is crazy leftist, but it was smart enough to ban asset seizures.
Wow.. after all that work Mr. Sessions it’s probably time for another nap.
It’s good to see that Jeff Sessions has his priorities in order...
Sheesh.
I read the entire statement from Sessions.
It appears to me that the rights of citizens are enhanced under his new policy. Must have probable cause to seize assets, and must return them in short order if no charges are filed; and pay attorney fees to those victimized by unlawful asset forfeitures.
I don’t think the protections go far enough, but it is a big step in the right direction.