             The Looting of America --- Civil Asset Forfeiture
                            by Jarret Wollstein


    "A POLICE DOG SCRATCHED AT YOUR LUGGAGE, SO WE'RE CONFISCATING YOUR
LIFE SAVINGS AND YOU'LL NEVER GET IT BACK."  In 1989, police stopped 49-
year-old Ethel Hylton at Houston's Hobby Airport and told her she under
arrest because a drug dog had scratched at her luggage.  Agents searched
her bags and strip-searched her, but they found no drugs.  They did find
$39,110 in cash, money she had received from an insurance settlement and
her life savings; accumulated through over 20 years of work as a hotel
housekeeper and hospital janitor.  Ethyl Hylton completely documented where
she got the money and was never charged with a crime.  But the police kept
her money anyway.  Nearly four years later, she is still trying to get her
money back.
    Ethyl Hylton is just one of a large and growing list of Americans - now
numbering in the HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS - who have been victimized by CIVIL
ASSET FORFEITURE.  Under civil asset forfeiture, everything you own can be
LEGALLY taken away even if you are never indicted, tried, or convicted of a
crime.
    Suspicion of offenses which, if proven in court, might result in a $200
fine or probation, are being used to justify seizure of tens or even
hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of property.  Totally innocent
Americans are losing their cars, homes, and businesses, based on the claims
of anonymous informants that illegal transactions took place on their
property.  Once property is seized, it is virtually impossible to get it
back.
    Property is now being seized in every state and from every class of
Americans.  Seizures include pocket money confiscated from public housing
residents in Florida; cars taken away from men suspected of soliciting
prostitutes in Oregon; and homes taken away from ordinary, middle class
Americans whose teenage children are accused of selling a few joints of
marijuana.  NO PERSON AND NO PROPERTY IS IMMUNE FROM SEIZURE.  YOU could be
the next victim.  Here are some examples:

   In Washington DC, police stop black men on the streets in poor areas of
    the city, and "routinely confiscate small amounts of cash and jewelry". 
    Most confiscated property is not even recorded by police departments. 
    "Resident Ben Davis calls it "robbery with a badge." [USA Today,
    5/18/92]

   In Iowa, "a woman accused of shoplifting a $25 sweater had her $18,000
    car -specially equipped for her handicapped daughter - seized as the
    'getaway vehicle'." [USA Today, 5/18/92]

   In December 1988, Detroit drug police raided a grocery store, but
    failed to find any drugs.  After drug dogs reacted to three $1.00 bills
    in the cash register, the police seized $4,384 from the cash register
    and the store safe.  According to the Pittsburgh Press, OVER 92% OF ALL
    CASH IN CIRCULATION IN THE U.S. NOW SHOWS SOME DRUG RESIDUE.

   In April 1992, Dr. Joseph Disbrow was accused of practicing psychiatry
    without a license.  His crime was providing counselling services from a
    spare bedroom in his mother's house in Monmouth, New Jersey. 
    Counselling does not require a license in New Jersey.  That didn't stop
    police from seizing virtually everything of value from his mother's
    home, totalling over $60,000.  The forfeiture squad confiscated
    furniture, carpets, paintings, and even personal photographs.

   Kathy and Mark Schrama were arrested just before Christmas 1990, at
    their home in New Jersey.  Kathy was charged with taking $500 worth of
    UPS packages from neighbor's porches.  Mark was charged with receiving
    stolen goods.  If found guilty, they might have paid a small fine and
    received probation.  The day after their arrest, their house, cars, and
    furniture was seized.  Based upon mere accusation, $150,000 in property
    was confiscated, without trial or indictment.  Police even took their
    clothing, eyeglasses, and Christmas presents for their 10-year-old son.

    The incentive for government agencies to expand forfeiture is enormous. 
Agencies can easily seize property and they usually keep what they take. 
According to the Pittsburgh Press, 80% of seizure victims are NEVER EVEN
CHARGED WITH A CRIME.  Law enforcement agencies often keep the best seized
cars, watches, and TVs for their "departments", and sell the rest.
    How extensive are seizures in America today?  In April 1990, The
Washington Post reported that the U.S. Marshals Service ALONE had an
inventory of over $1.4 BILLION in seized assets, including over 30,000
cars, boats, homes, and businesses.  Federal and state agencies seizing
property now include the FBI, the DEA, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Coast
Guard, the IRS, local police, highway patrol, the Department of Housing and
Urban Development, the FDA, and the Bureau of Land Management.  Asset
forfeiture is a growth industry.  Seizures have increased from $27 million
in 1986, to over $644 million in 1991.  In 1992, seizures may exceed $1
billion.
    Civil asset forfeiture defines a new standard of justice in America; or
more precisely, a new standard of INJUSTICE.  Under civil seizure,
property, NOT AN INDIVIDUAL, is charged with an offense.  Even if you are a
totally innocent owner, the government can still confiscate your "guilty"
property.
    If government agents seize your property under civil asset forfeiture,
you can forget about being innocent until being proven guilty, due process
of law, the right to an attorney, or even the right to trial.  All of those
rights only exist if you are being charged with a CRIMINAL offence; that
is, with an offense which could result in your imprisonment.  If you (or
your property) are accused of a CIVIL offense, (offenses which could NOT
result in your imprisonment), the Supreme Court has ruled that you have no
presumption of innocence, no right to an attorney, and no protection from
double jeopardy.
    SEIZURE occurs when government takes away your property.  FORFEITURE is
when legal title is permanently transferred to the state.  To have seized
property returned, you have to fight the full resources of your state or
the federal government; sometimes both!  You have to prove your property's
"innocence" by documenting how you earned every cent used to pay for it. 
You have to prove that neither you nor any of your family members ever
committed an illegal act involving the property.
    To get a trial, you have to post a non-refundable "bond" of 10% of the
value of your property.  You have to pay attorney fees - ranging from
$5,000 to over $100,000 - out of your own pocket.  Money you pay your
attorney is also subject to seizure (either before or after the trial) if
the government alleges that THOSE FUNDS were "tainted".  And you may be
forced to go through trial after trial, because under civil seizure, the
Constitutional protection against "double jeopardy" doesn't apply.  Once
your property is seized, expect to spend years fighting government agencies
and expect to be impoverished by legal fees -- with no guarantee of winning
-- while the government keeps your car, home, and bank account.
    As bad as current asset forfeiture laws are, far worse is just ahead. 
Hundreds of EXPANDED asset forfeiture bills are pending before Congress and
state legislatures.  The 1991 Omnibus Crime Bill (passed by Congress, but
vetoed by President Bush for being "too soft" on crime), increases from six
months to SIX-AND-ONE-HALF YEARS the time officials have to return
"improperly seized" property to its rightful owners.
    The 1992 Omnibus Crime Bill extends civil asset forfeiture to POLITICAL
DISSENT.  Under this bill, if "violence" occurs during a political
activity, the assets of the sponsoring organization are subject to
forfeiture.  If a fist fight broke out during a union picket, all of the
union's assets could be seized.  Even before this Bill has passed, cars
belonging to Operation Rescue demonstrators are being confiscated.
    Civil asset forfeiture is the beginning of the end of justice in
America.  Current and pending laws give government agencies the LEGAL RIGHT
to loot at will.  The threat of asset forfeiture can be used to intimidate
businesses, silence dissent, and destroy families.
    Some people are fighting back.  A New Jersey based group, Forfeiture
Endangers American Rights (FEAR), is lobbying Congress and creating a
national network of forfeiture defense attorneys.  The Drug Policy
Foundation and the Criminal Justice Policy Foundation (both based in
Washington DC) are fighting existing and proposed asset forfeiture laws. 
And the Citizens for the Bill of Rights is engaging in grass roots
education and organizing opposition on a state level.  These groups need
your support to succeed.
    The fight against civil asset forfeiture is a battle against tyranny in
America.  If forfeiture squads continue to expand, liberty and justice in
America will become a fading memory.  We must stop government looters and
restore the rule of law NOW.  Tomorrow will be too late.


Jarret B. Wollstein is a director of ISIL and the author of 300 published
articles.

Groups fighting asset forfeiture:
Citizens for the Bill of Rights
P.O. Box 646, Falls Church, VA 22040
(703) 204-1136  $25 per year

Criminal Justice Policy Foundation
2000 L. Street, NW, Suite 702, Washington DC 20036
(202) 835-9075  $90 per year

Drug Policy Foundation
4801 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Suite 400, Washington DC 20016
(202) 895-1634  $35 per year

Families Against Mandatory Minimums
1001 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 200 South, Washington DC 20004
(202) 457-5790  $35 per year

FEAR (Forfeiture Endangers American Rights)
P.O. Box 513, Franklin, NJ 07416
(908) 873-1251  $35 per year

NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws)
1636 R. Street, NW, Washington DC 20009
(202) 483-5500  $25 per year

Ŀ
                        Recommended Reading                        
 The Closing Door by Dan Rosenthal....... $30.00                   
 Presumed Guilty by Schneider/Flaherty... $ 6.00                   
 Spectre of Forfeiture by Judy Osburn.... $14.95                   
 Victims story Book ed. B. Grantland..... $25.00                   
                                                                   
 For these and other books and tapes write: Freedom's Forum Books, 
 1800 Market Street, San Francisco, California 94102. Add $2.50    
 P & H for 1st book and $1.00 for each additional item.            


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