Different Parties, Same Conclusion On Civil Asset Forfeitures: Reform It

[bobandtorey]

 Dec. 19, 2014 |  Follow Anne Schieber on Twitter

With the conclusion of the 2013-2014 Legislature, the clock has run out on bills that would have required more disclosure by law enforcement agencies on their civil asset seizures and forfeitures.

The measures had been championed by two House members from opposing parties who think it’s time to put party differences aside and reform Michigan's laws in this area.

 

Tom McMillin, R-Rochester Hills, and Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor

State Rep. Tom McMillin, R-Rochester Hills, and Rep. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, worked together during the past session to craft legislation (House Bills 5250, 5251, 5252, and 5081) that would have required law enforcement agencies to file annual reports on their own property seizures.

“We’re taking $20 million a year from citizens,” said Irwin, who adds he is bothered by the fact that there is little to no information about these cases, including whether any charges were filed and what happened to the money and property that was seized.

“I think it’s a lot more than $20 million (a year). It’s self-reported, and some do not report,” McMillin said.

According to a 2014 Michigan State Police report, since 2000 Michigan governments have collected more than $250 million in forfeiture revenue. The report reveals that 86 percent of asset forfeitures during the previous year were for alleged administrative violations, not criminal offenses. It also acknowledges shortcomings in public records, stating “not all entities reported,” and “many asset forfeiture proceedings involve multiple agencies and a portion may have been inadvertently left out due to a misunderstanding of which agency would report the asset forfeiture.”

Irwin and McMillin believe all law enforcement agencies should be required to report how many forfeiture proceedings they participated in, what was taken and how much the property was worth. Bills they co-sponsored also would have required the reports to contain details of the alleged violation that led to each seizure, when the assets were taken, whether the owner was ever charged with a crime, and if charged, convicted.

“When I talk to law enforcement I say, it behooves you to really be up front and be transparent about this stuff ... because it doesn’t look good,” McMillin said.

“The public wants to have good relations with the police and the police want to serve us appropriately, and in order to do that we have to restore right relationships. We have to get back on a constitutional framework where the public knows what law enforcement is doing is fair, legal and in accordance with the Constitution,” Irwin said.

Irwin and McMillin watched a video posted on Michigan Capitol Confidential on Dec. 3, which detailed the plight of two residents whose assets were seized before being charged with crimes. In one case, the owner of property seized and held for more than a year was finally informed his belongings would be returned if he paid $5,000.

In the other case, state police held seized property and ordered bank accounts frozen until the day the video went public two months later, when the owner was charged with medical marijuana law violations. Irwin and McMillin say these cases are similar to others they’ve heard.

The legislation requiring more disclosures had been reported out of a House committee last June, but then stalled in the full House. McMillin, who is completing his final term under Michigan's term limits law, said he has been in contact with newly elected Republicans to inform them on the issue.

“We have a lot of 'tea party' liberty kind of folks coming in and I’ve already made sure to introduce them and talk to [them about] working with Jeff Irwin ... (because) these are the kind of issues where ... the bipartisanship is real," McMillin said. "There is a principle here and you get passionate about it.”

“Rep. McMillin’s bill is really the first, obvious step that any responsive government would take to account for what we’re doing,” said Irwin. He adds that he has reached out to his fellow Democrats, along with Republicans, to come together of the issue.

“I’m most concerned about compromising the Constitution," he added. "In America we have a long tradition that you’re suppose to face your accuser. So if law enforcement is relying on information that they can’t bring into court, I think that is problematic.”

The Michigan State Police opposed the reform legislation, with a spokesperson telling a House Committee that the agency was concerned reporting requirements could compromise confidentiality in investigations. The Michigan State Police has declined to comment further on the matter.

McMillin says he believes that argument is a straw man. The legislation was amended in committee so that the required disclosures would apply only to proceedings that had been finalized for purposes of appeal.

 

http://www.michigancapitolconfidential.com/20839

 

[bobandtorey]

Actor and director Mel Brooks once famously observed, “It's good to be the king,” but it's also very profitable to be the lawman. 

In 1984, Congress passed the Comprehensive Crime Control Act, permitting local and national law-enforcement agencies to share the rewards of seized assets and cash among one another. Between the law's passage and 1993, a total of $3 billion in cash and property flowed through the nationalized Asset Forfeiture Program to local and national law-enforcement agencies. 

The intent of the program, quipped Attorney General Richard Thornburgh in 1989, was to allow “a drug dealer to serve time in a forfeiture-financed prison after being arrested by agents driving a forfeiture-provided automobile while working in a forfeiture-funded sting operation.” 

In 1986, two years after the program's creation, law-enforcement agencies collected $93.7 million. Twenty-two years later, in 2008, the asset-sharing program collected more than $1 billion: a 967 percent increase. 

If the national Asset Forfeiture Program's 1986 size were represented by Earth, its size in 2008 would be represented by the planet Jupiter. 

To paraphrase programming expert Joel Spolsky, a man's behavior maximizes the thing you're paying him for, but it doesn't maximize the thing you really care about — and government agencies are no different. 

As seizing civil assets became increasingly rewarding, police departments began to seek ways to maximize the efficiency of “stop-and-seizure” tactics. 

In the late 1980s and 1990s, consulting firms began to crop up, teaching cops how to increase the effectiveness of their seizure efforts. Private intelligence networks also were created in hopes of allowing cops to trade reports and share tips on asset forfeiture. 

One such online police community, called Black Asphalt — created by self-styled asset-seizure guru and former law-enforcement agent Joe David — targeted American citizens accused of no crimes, as cops and government agents shared law-enforcement records on innocent people. 

As reported by The Washington Post, Black Asphalt was not simply a place to swap hunches and sensitive identifying data; members held photo contests with stacks of seized currency and competitions tracking who could confiscate the most currency. 

Contest winners are recognized by their fellow super-troopers at an annual national conference in Virginia Beach, Va., that's partially sponsored by the Virginia State Police — and, in turn, taxpayers. 

Although perhaps initially well-intentioned, the harassment and targeting of citizens by law enforcement agents needs to end. Law enforcement should be conducted for the sake of keeping the peace, not for agencies' financial enrichment or officers' banal entertainment.

 

http://triblive.com/mobile/7383917-96/forfeiture-law-asset

[Herb Cannabis]

Bob, this is a good post, it should serve to tinkle each and everyone of us to write, call or visit our representatives and demand that this law be passed.

 

I will compose mine today and I will visit my rep during his next open office hours.  I hope that every one of you do the same.  Until we do, nothing will change.

 

Thanks for this informative post, until now, I never heard of the bill(s).

[bobandtorey]

I do try to let as many  people know  and look forward to reading it  please post it