A
non-profit organization dedicated to correcting the abuses of
asset forfeiture caused by the
War on Some Drugs.
Civil forfeiture has been a problem due to its lack of proper
due process, presumption of guilt and the corrupting influence on police forces. When
Congress refitted the laws concerning civil forfeiture in
1984, they allowed seizing police agencies to keep the funds from forfeited property. Since then, blatant abuse of this power has increased at breakneck speed - one
motel owner had his property seized because his rents were so low he was accused of welcoming
drug dealers. This same motel owner had gone to the police earlier asking for help
evicting the dealers, but was turned away due to lack of evidence. There have been repeated cases of police raiding large estates hoping to find evidence of drugs for the explicit purpose of seizing the property for sale. Recently, civil forfeiture has spread from the War on Some Drugs to
prostitution and
welfare fraud.
FEAR was instrumental in the passing of HR 1658, a bill that provides counsel to indigents in forfeiture cases (As civil cases, the guarantee of a free lawyer does not apply in most situations) and places more of the burden of proof on the prosecutor. Their website may be found at www.fear.org