Pubdate: Mon, 07 Mar 2016
Source: Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
Copyright: 2016 Sun-Sentinel Company
Contact: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sfl-letters-to-the-editor-htmlstory.html
Website: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/159
Authors: Grover Norquist and Jorge Marin
Note: Grover Norquist is founder and Jorge Marin is a federal affairs 
manager at Americans for Tax Reform.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/af.htm (Asset Forfeiture)

PRIVATE PROPERTY CONFISCATION BIG PROBLEM IN FLORIDA

Usually, when Americans think about the idea of officers of the law 
confiscating property with no warrant, trial or conviction they come 
up with two things: tin-pot dictatorships and dystopian movies.

Unfortunately for Floridians, they should also think about their own 
legal code.

This is what a controversial legal process is all about - property 
confiscation on the spot.

Civil asset forfeiture is the practice of taking someone's property 
based solely on the suspicion of a crime. The property is seized by 
the police on the spot and will then go directly into the pockets of 
the agency who made the confiscation. It may sound ridiculous, but 
after decades of use, police departments now take advantage of 
profits from taking people's stuff in order to pad their budgets.

Consider the case of Tan Nguyen. Nguyen had an excellent night at the 
casino, earning $50,000 in cash and cashier's checks. His excitement 
was cut short at the sight of police lights. Nevada Deputy Lee Dove 
stopped him on the road and proceeded to inspect the car. The deputy 
found no drugs, or much of anything ... except the cash.

The money was seized because the deputy claimed he smelled marijuana 
and proceeded to warn Nguyen to drive off and "forget this ever 
happened." Fortunately, Nguyen won an ensuing case and had his 
property returned to him plus legal expenses. Not everyone is so 
lucky. Florida lags behind most states in property protections 
against asset forfeiture - this has led to $20 million per year in 
confiscations through asset forfeiture. Since agencies are not 
required to report the actual amount of assets seized, the full 
amount is unclear. This has got to stop.

There have been widespread instances of abuse against Floridians who 
are either never convicted - or charged - with a crime

The fact is most law enforcement officials are honest, hardworking 
individuals who put their lives on the line for their communities. 
These abusive laws were not written by them. The tension that asset 
forfeiture causes is the result of a poorly conceived idea whose time 
has passed.

Fortunately, the Florida Legislature has been discussing fixes to 
civil asset forfeiture.

Senate Bill 1044, for instance, would allow for asset seizure and 
forfeiture but under the necessary conditions required to protect the 
rights of the innocent. The new law would require both an arrest 
prior to the seizure of assets and proof, beyond a reasonable doubt, 
that the property in question was connected to the crime for assets 
to be forfeited by the seizing agency.

This eliminates the perverse situation wherein property can be taken 
without any due process. The Fifth Amendment exists precisely to 
protect Americans from the kind of tyranny inherent in civil asset 
forfeiture, and it's time to recognize this.

To be sure, more needs to be done to protect Floridians. For one, 
assets seized should not incentivize police by going directly into 
their budgets. Rather, they should go to the Legislature's general 
fund where it can have the proper oversight of elected representatives.

Moreover, the anti-federalist practice of "equitable sharing" should be curbed.

Equitable sharing is a federal process with which state police can 
use the federal government's own rules to go around state 
protections. In fact, Florida law enforcement gets $7 million per 
year in unaccountable funds using this method. Other states already 
have cut the federal-local cord, Florida should too.

States like New Mexico, North Carolina, Michigan, and recently 
Wyoming, have all reformed their civil asset forfeiture regimes. The 
world has not ended for these states, instead, their citizens have 
additional protections without harming the ability of law enforcement 
to do its job.

Florida is not a tin-pot dictatorship. It is also not a dystopia. It 
is an American state that has demonstrated respect for the taxpayer 
and respect for the rule of law. This makes the need to ensure civil 
liberties all the more important. Tallahassee should be a leader on 
civil asset forfeiture, and now, with this new focus on due process, 
it has a perfect opportunity to do so.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom