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.
Yup. Several of us right here on this thread who are actually concerned about this abuse of governmental power.
Of course they are pro-dopers, so it kinda makes sense.
Yeah, ad hominem makes for really a great argument.
Some analysis here:
.... Because the process is “civil,” it often allows police to do this without ever proving the property owner has committed a crime, or even charging them with criminal action. Those facing the forfeiture process often have to pay for their own lawyers (if they can afford lawyers, what with their assets being seized) and face a complex bureaucratic process stacked against them. This was sold as a way to fight drug cartels, but over the past several decades it has become clear that cops are abusing the process to pad their budgets and payrolls. Instead of drug kingpins, the targets are frequently poorer people, often minorities or immigrants, who lacked the financial resources to fight back when police took their property. Law enforcement agencies have raked in more than $35 billion in this way over the last two decades.
Several states have tried to curtail abuses by imposing their own restrictions on forfeitures, but the federal Department of Justice’s programs can be used to bypass state-level restraints. The Justice Department’s Equitable Sharing program allows local law enforcement agencies to team up with the FBI or Drug Enforcement Administration to do a raid, then launder the assets they seize through the feds and keep much of it.
The FAIR Act would eliminate such “equitable” sharing, forcing law enforcement agencies to comply with state-level restrictions on forfeiture. It also increases the evidentiary threshold for forfeiture, requiring “clear and convincing evidence” that the property to be seized is connected to a crime, compared to the current, much looser standard or a “preponderance of the evidence.” It’s still not the same “beyond a reasonable doubt” threshold to get a conviction, but it’s nevertheless an improvement.
The bill would also make sure that people subjected to federal forfeitures would receive appointed counsel if they need it. And it would reduce the profit motive to engage in forfeiture by directing the money seized in this way to the Treasury’s General Fund, to be distributed by Congress rather than be sent directly to law enforcement agencies.
“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,” Paul said in a prepared statement. “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.”
Paul attempted to get this bill passed back in 2014, but it languished at the Senate Judiciary Committee. Rep. Tim Walberg (R–Mich.) has sponsored the House version, which has attracted co-sponsors from both major parties, but it has also been stuck in committee since May 2019.
This time Paul says he’ll be attempting to attach the FAIR Act as an amendment to any police reform bill the Senate might consider. Unfortunately, it’s not clear that the Senate will actually be considering any of them. Senate Democrats refused to support a Republican-sponsored bill organized by Sen. Tim Scott (R–S.C.) because it didn’t go far enough for them. Meanwhile, the bill Democrats pushed through the House last night included a provision that would strip officers of qualified immunity, an idea that Senate Republicans don’t want to consider.
So ultimately there may not be anything for Paul to actually attach the FAIR Act to. We’ll have to see.
https://reason.com/2020/06/26/rand-paul-tries-again-to-make-it-harder-for-police-to-take-your-stuff/
Due process...a right guaranteed to *all* citizens.
ending these police thefts of citizens’ private property will go a long ways to reform what needs fixing
and its years late!!!!!
why the Hell hasn’t this damned police state theft racket been ended long ago?!
Regarding qualified immunity, there’s no constitutional argument that a certain segment of the population should have more rights than the rest, in a legal sense.
There’s too much money involved to want to end it.
it is probably just that simple, yes.
still, a government whose police and secret agents break in and steal from its citizens is hardly the American dream of our Founders
and
this corrupts many of “our” police and government ‘officials’ probably more than any other single thing
Bravo...
ABOUT TIME!
Don’t get too excited.... the Uniparty will probably vote it down!
“I remember when Henry Hyde was fighting this lonely fight over 20 years ago.”
He also wrote the original bill to allow it. Hyde was a snake. He cast the deciding vote on the 94 AWB after he told me to my face he wouldn’t.
Eff Hyde.
L
The vast majority of the ABUSES are of honest citizens. No rock warrants, seizure and never given back posessions that were confiscated. I know LOTs of individuals who have had this happen to them, with no charges filed, not even detained. Very common in Texas for a county/city cop to stop some passing through and seize any monies over 500,1000 or 2000$. They are told talk to the judge to get it back. Not even a ticket written for speeding in some instances.....Moral of the story - NEVER agree to any searches.
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