Time: Tue Jun 17 15:02:00 1997
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Date: Tue, 17 Jun 1997 15:01:29 -0700
To: (Recipient list suppressed)
From: Paul Andrew Mitchell [address in tool bar]
Subject: URGENT: 6/18 Vote on Forfeiture Reform Bill (Tomorrow)
<snip>
>
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> Drug Reform Coordination Network (DRCNet)
> Rapid Response Team
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>
>Please copy and distribute.
>--------------------------
>
>Did you know that the United State Department of "Justice"
>seizes $500 million from Americans each year? Did you know
>that 80 percent of the people whose property is forfeited by
>DOJ and other agencies are NEVER EVEN CHARGED WITH A CRIME?
>Did you know the government can take your property even if
>you are completely innocent, unless you prove that no one
>used your property illegally, even without your knowledge?
>
>The extent to which property rights have been gutted by
>civil asset forfeiture is so outrageous that even many
>reform advocates have trouble believing it. But the "Dear
>Colleague" letter attached below, sent by Reps. Hyde,
>Conyers, Barr and Frank, introducing the "Civil Asset
>Forfeiture Reform Act of 1997" to all the Representatives of
>Congress, uses the word "unbelievable" to describe the
>current state of asset forfeiture law. H.R. 1835 is a truly
>bipartisan effort at meaningful reform.
>
>We've been informed that tomorrow, Wednesday June 18, the
>House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on H.R. 1835.
>The bill has an excellent chance of passage, but the U.S.
>Department of Justice (often known as the Department of
>Injustice) is working furiously to get H.R. 1835 watered
>down and neutralize the important reforms it would make.
>
>The Department of Justice is addicted to forfeiture money.
>Just as friends sometimes intervene to help their friends
>deal with destructive addictions, it's our duty as citizens
>to help our government break its harmful addiction to civil
>asset forfeiture.
>
>Please contact the Judiciary Committee today, at (202) 225-
>3951 (phone) or (202) 225-7682 (fax), and ask them to pass
>H.R. 1835 AS ORIGINALLY INTRODUCED. Also please ask your
>own Representative to co-sponsor and vote for H.R. 1835.
>You can reach your rep (or find out who your rep is) through
>the Congressional Switchboard at (202) 225-3121. (If you
>get this message too late, please call anyway. These votes
>are sometimes postponed, and it will only help for later in
>the process.)
>
>More information on H.R. 1835 is available on the web site
>of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers,
><http://www.criminaljustice.org>. The full text of H.R.
>1835, along with general info on floor action and co-
>sponsors, can be found at <http://thomas.loc.gov> by
>searching under 105th Congress. General information on
>asset forfeiture is available from Forfeiture Endangers
>American Rights, <http://www.fear.org>. We learned about
>tomorrow's vote from the Marijuana Policy Project,
><http://www.mpp.org>.
>
>==========
>
>The following is the "Dear Colleague" letter sent by the
>bill's sponsors:
>
> U.S. House of Representatives
> Committee on the Judiciary
> One Hundred Fifth Congress
>
> CO-SPONSOR BI-PARTISAN ASSET FORFEITURE REFORM
>
>Dear Colleague:
>
> Over the last decade, our two-century old civil asset
>forfeiture laws have been recruited in the war against
>crime. The federal government is taking hundreds of
>millions of dollars a year in proceeds from cash and
>property used in criminal activities. Unfortunately, it has
>become all too apparent in recent years that these civil
>asset forfeiture laws are sometimes being used in terribly
>unjust ways, depriving innocent citizens of their property
>without basic due process. Believe it or not, Federal
>officials have the power to seize your home, your car, your
>business and your bank account -- all without indictment,
>hearing or trial.
>
> Imagine this. You make the mistake of buying an
>airplane ticket with cash -- behavior that is deemed to fit
>a drug courier profile -- so you are detained and searched.
>No drugs are found, but the agents seize the cash in your
>wallet, saying they have "probable cause" to believe that
>the money was intended to buy drugs. You are allowed to
>leave and are not charged with any crime, but the agents
>keep your property.
>
> What recourse do you have to get your property back?
>Very little, because the law treats the property, rather
>than you, as the offending object. None of the
>Constitutional or procedural safeguards of the criminal law
>are available, because you are not being threatened with a
>deprivation of liberty. In fact, the law doesn't require
>that you ever be charged with a crime. Instead of the
>government having to prove that it had "probable cause" to
>believe that your seized property was being used in
>connection with a crime it is up to you to prove that it did
>not. Your only other hope is to prove that your property
>was 'innocent' of its alleged connection with a crime. But
>the alleged criminal conduct needn't even involve you -- it
>could just as easily be a crime allegedly committed by the
>previous owner of your property, or by someone who,
>unbeknown to you, is using your property in a criminal
>endeavor.
>
> And if this weren't bad enough, you must provide a 10%
>bond for the privilege of even contesting the government's
>seizure. Don't expect to have an attorney provided to help
>you if you are indigent, but familiarize yourself with the
>legal procedure quickly -- you only have 10 days to file
>your claim. Even assuming you somehow prevail, the
>government is not liable for any interest on your money, or
>in the case of seized property, any damage caused by its
>handling or storage.
>
> As unbelievable as this all seems, this is now the law!
>And with the government's interest in increasing available
>funds, there is little incentive for law enforcement
>officials to refrain voluntarily from vigorously exploiting
>this tool. It is incumbent on the Congress to reform the
>system to make it consistent with the basic presumption in
>American law -- that you are innocent until proven guilty,
>and that you should not lose your property without due
>process of law.
>
> To this end, we will soon be introducing the "Civil
>Asset Forfeiture Reform Act." It puts the burden of proof
>back where it belongs -- on the government. And it requires
>the government to prove its case by clear and convincing
>evidence. It also provides indigent defendants with
>appointed counsel, allows property owners who take
>reasonable steps to prevent others from using their property
>in criminal activity to get their property back, eliminates
>the cost bond requirement, provides compensation for damage
>caused to the property, extends the time for filing of a
>claim, and sets a time certain for the government to
>commence a judicial proceeding.
>
> Civil asset forfeiture reform is supported by the
>national Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the
>Institute for Justice, and the American Civil Liberties
>Union. If you would like to be a co-sponsor, or if you
>would like more information, please call Judiciary Committee
>counsel Diana Schacht at extension S3951.
>
> Sincerely,
>
>HENRY J. HYDE JOHN CONYERS, JR.
>Chairman, Ranking Member,
>Judiciary Committee Judiciary Committee
>
>BOB BARR BARNEY FRANK
>Member, Ranking Member,
>Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Courts
> and Intellectual Property
>
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========================================================================
Paul Andrew Mitchell : Counselor at Law, federal witness
B.A., Political Science, UCLA; M.S., Public Administration, U.C. Irvine
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