Help F.E.A.R. Support Forfeiture Reform
F.E.A.R. (Forfeiture Endangers American Rights) is working for reform
of state and federal forfeiture laws. There are currently two bills in
the House of Representatives that address this issue, H.R. 2417, submitted
by Representative Henry Hyde of Illinois, a republican, and H.R. 3347,
submitted by Representative John Conyers of Michigan, a democrat. You can
receive information and a complementary copy of F.E.A.R's newsletter by
contacting F.E.A.R. - email, phone, fax, and snailmail information listed
below. Include your name, address, and congressman or congressional district
if you know it, and John Paff will send you back a laser-printed letter
addressed from you to your representative in support of H.R. 2417 and H.R.
3347. The following is a brief article describing F.E.A.R. and the need
for forfeiture reform:
F.E.A.R. (Forfeiture Endangers American Rights)
P.O. Box 5424
Somerset, NJ 08875-5424
Phone: 908/873-1251
FAX: 908/873-2070
E-Mail: [email protected]
Forfeiture Reform Group Gaining Ground
by John Paff
Forfeiture Endangers American Rights (F.E.A.R.) is an organization dedicated
to reforming state and federal forfeiture laws. If you're not convinced
that forfeiture statutes are in need of reform, read the following quote
from _United States v. One 1982 Chevrolet Corvette_ a forfeiture case decided
in 1992 by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals (976 F.2d 392):
In a civil forfeiture proceeding, the Government must establish probable
cause that the property was used or intended to be used for an unlawful
purpose. The Government must show more than mere suspicion but less than
prima facie proof, and it may use hearsay to establish probable cause.
Once the government meets this burden, the burden shifts to the party opposing
forfeiture to demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that the property
is not subject to forfeiture. (citations omitted)
In another case, _United States v. Sandini_ (816 F.2d 869) the Third Circuit
Court of Appeals bluntly held that in a federal forfeiture action, "the
innocence of the owner is irrelevant." Not surprisingly, police agencies
around the country have been using these sweeping seizure powers to intimidate,
harrass and abuse law-abiding citizens. The lure of forfeiture is causing
widespread police corruption, causing Elvin Martinez, a Florida legislator
who drafted that state's forfeiture law to remark "Our earnest expectation
was that [Florida's state forfeiture law] would be used to specially target
the criminal hierarchy that had so long evaded criminal sanctions. But
before long, we began to see the operation of Lord Acton's famous axiom:
that power 'tends to corrupt.' . . Those who lacked the capacity to fight
back became the targets of opportunity in a system that seemed to lose
sight of its original goal and began to see forfeiture as a source of agency
funding rather than a crime fighting tool." Prior to making the above
statements, Martinez was awarded the "Crime Fighter of the Year"
award by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
F.E.A.R. has helped get forfeiture reform legislation introduced in the
Congress (H.R. 3347 and H.R. 2417) and has spearheaded similar efforts
in state legislatures. Anybody who has any questions, comments or who would
like a complimentary issue of our newsletter is invited to write to us
at P.O. Box 5424, Somerset, NJ 08875-5424, or e-mail us at [email protected].
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