Civil asset forfeiture reforms needed
The Courier
When the Justice Department in December suspended its civil asset forfeiture program promoting the seizure of cash and property — often without criminal charges — it was hoped reforms would follow.
Civil asset forfeiture is another creation of the anti-drug frenzy of the 1980s that birthed such draconian laws as the mandatory sentencing guidelines that have made the U.S. the world leader in incarcerations.
A 1984 amendment to the 1970 Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act gave law enforcement additional tools to pursue drug kingpins by letting agencies keep 80 percent of the booty seized.
States followed suit. Iowa divides 90 percent of the assets seized among agencies involved. The state Attorney General’s office and public safety departments get the remainder. Iowa law enforcement agencies also got $36 million from federal forfeiture between 2000-13, according to the libertarian Institute for Justice, which has documented abuses.
In 2014, the Justice Department and U.S. Treasury’s haul in forfeiture funds was $4.5 billion — more than the losses from every burglary in the nation.
Most targets weren’t drug kingpins. According to the Institute for Justice, the median forfeiture case in Minnesota was $451; Tennessee, $502, and Illinois, $530. Eighty-seven percent of cases were civil, not criminal, without charges filed.
Law enforcement — from police to prosecutors — now has a civil asset forfeiture addiction. During the federal program suspension, the National Sheriff’s Association complained, “While Congress and the resident vacation in peace and tranquility, law enforcement knows all too well that the criminals, terrorists and criminal aliens do not take a holiday.”
The Justice Department program was reinstated in March, but Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, who supports its objectives, warned about abuses.
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