Forfeiture Endangers American Rights (F.E.A.R.) -- Police & Prosecutors - Articles critical of police and prosecutor abuses of forfeiture laws

Abstract:
Despite its failure to achieve its desired objectives, the War on Drugs continues on into a fourth decade with disastrous effects and extensive collateral damage. The current article explores civil asset forfeiture as one motivation that keeps the current drug policy intact. Specifically, it advances the premise that the current state of civil asset forfeiture law creates goal displacement that motivates law enforcement agencies to implement drug enforcement strategies that aggressively pursue civil asset forfeitures as a means of supplementing their budgets rather than as a legitimate tool for decreasing the supply of illicit drugs. The article explores how this goal displacement not only negatively impacts the progress of the War on Drugs, but also how it leads to disregard for individual due process rights, sometimes with tragic and life-altering consequences for innocent individuals. A brief discussion of the necessary reforms to civil asset forfeiture law is included.

Drug Enforcement's Double Edged Sword: An Assessment of Asset Forfeiture Programs by Sociologists Mitchell J. Miller and Lance Selva completed the first empirical examination of asset forfeiture in 1994. One of the authors assumed the role of confidential informant in undercover narcotics operations in a southern state during their 12 month empirical examination of the implementation of laws from within the forfeiture program. Their findings “suggest asset forfeiture is a dysfunctional policy. Forfeiture programs, while serving to generate income, prompt drug enforcement to serve functions that are inherently contradictory and often at odds with the demands of justice."

Michigan's Mackinac Center for Public Policy has released an excellent study entitled "Reforming Property Forfeiture Laws to Protect Citizens’ Rights", by Donald J. Kochan, J. D. Among other reforms, it advocates abolishing forfeiture funds being paid to the seizing agencies and informants, prohibiting federal adoption of state forfeitures, shifting the burden of proof to the government, increased protections for innocent owners and third parties, and requiring police to make public justifications for every forfeiture they pursue.

Forfeit Your Profits or Else!, by Leon Felkins, "Rant of the Day" for February 2, 1998 (Leon ponders how much forfeiture costs the government.)

"Tourist Alert: Louisiana Revenuers", by Leon Felkins, 12/3/97, originally published in PissedOff Magazine. (How the State of Louisiana thought they could hijack travelers on Interstate 10, but then it occurred to them that it might hurt tourism). Part II is here. Appendix.

"Adventures in law enforcement," by Vin Suprynowicz, The Libertarian, April 10, 1996 (police thievery from property seized for forfeiture)

The 1996 Michigan Forfeiture Report, by Tom Flook, Vice President of F.E.A.R.. This is the third year running that Tom has compiled this report, analyzing the forfeiture statistics for Michigan state agencies. Tom obtains the data from Freedom of Information requests and crunches the numbers himself. This page tells how you can do the same kind of audit for your state.

New Jersey Forfeiture King Indicted, by Peter Gorman (Somerset N.J. prosecutor Nicholas Bissell Jr. faces 30 counts), F.E.A.R. Chronicles, Vol. 3 No. 2 (March 1996)

"An INS Fable", by New Mexico FEAR coordinator Ralph Binford, FEAR-List Bulletin 3/31/96

Prosecutor Suffers Seizure!
F.E.A.R. List Bulletin, 7/8/95 by John Paff, (NJ Prosecutor Nick Bissell may become forfeiture victim himself, thanks to John Paff's relentless pursuit of alleged hanky panky in Bissell's handling of forfeiture funds.)

Next Time Better Buy Cough Drops,
by Richard Heffern, F.E.A.R. Chronicles, Vol. 2 No. 2 (July 1994) (U.S. Postal Service opens packages that appear to contain prescription drugs. It's illegal to send prescription drugs through the mail.)

Asset Forfeiture Is "Dysfunctional Policy": Empirical Study Finds Forfeiture Negatively Impacts Police Procedure, Forcing Agencies to Subordinate Justice To Profit,
by Judy Osburn, F.E.A.R. Chronicles, Vol. 2 No. 2 (July 1994) (report on a study conducted by Mitchell Miller and Lance Selva, which won best paper award for 1994 from Academy of Criminal Justice Research Sciences. The study, "Drug Enforcement's Double-Edged Sword: An Assessment of Asset Forfeiture Programs" tells what Mitch Miller found when he went undercover for a year as an informant for the police in order to study how forfeiture affects police behavior. The paper was published in the June 1994 Justice Quarterly.)

. . . And A Little Help From Our Enemies
FEAR Chronicles Vol. 1 No. 3 (Aug. 1992) by Brenda Grantland, Esq. (Cary Copeland's efforts to undo the impact of Presumed Guilty series, published by Pittsburgh Press, backfires on DoJ)