Sessions reinstates asset forfeiture policy at Justice Department

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: CBS - Associated Press

CBS/AP July 19, 2017, 7:35 AM

Sessions reinstates asset forfeiture policy at Justice Department

Last Updated Jul 19, 2017 3:36 PM EDT

The Justice Department announced their plans to reinstate the use of asset forfeiture, especially for drug suspects -- making it easier for local law enforcement to seize cash and property from crime suspects and reap the proceeds. ... The practice has been criticized because it allows law enforcement to take possessions -- such as cars and money -- without indictments or evidence a crime has been committed.
....

CBS News' Paula Reid reports that 24 states have passed laws limiting the practice, but local law enforcement can get around those restrictions by giving seized assets to the federal government instead of returning them to their owners. This practice is called "adoption" and it's been used to seize almost $1 billion in assets over the last decade.

In an off-camera briefing on Wednesday with reporters, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein defended the forfeiture practice as a way to empower law enforcement. This new policy allows local police to seize property even from people not charged with a crime. About 20 states have reformed the practice and said that assets can only be seized with an indictment or conviction. ... Reid reports that when asked why the DOJ would override the will of over 20 states that do not want their citizens subject to this, Rosenstein repeatedly claimed that this practice will help solve the opioid crisis.

A change would likely represent another reversal by Sessions of Obama-era Justice Department policies. His Democratic predecessor Eric Holder had tightened control of the department's asset forfeiture operations amid concerns that property could be seized without judicial oversight and without the owner ever being charged with a crime.
....

2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/sessions-signals-more-police-property-seizures-coming-from-justice-department/

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* * * * *

Today, the policy was put in effect. Earlier, Sessions said he would be doing this.

Jeff Sessions wants police to take more cash from American citizens
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10141822791

Jeff Sessions wants police to take more cash from American citizens
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10029337228

* * * * *

Jeff Sessions's Justice Department turns a $65 million asset forfeiture spigot back on
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/07/19/jeff-sessions-justice-department-turns-a-65-million-asset-forfeiture-spigot-back-on/

By Christopher Ingraham July 19 at 12:50 PM

The Justice Department announced on Wednesday that it will be restarting a federal asset forfeiture program that had been shut down by the previous administration.

Known as "adoptive forfeiture," the program -- which gives police departments greater leeway to seize property of those suspected of a crime, even if they're never charged with or convicted of one -- was a significant source of revenue for local law enforcement. In the 12 months before Attorney General Eric Holder shut down the program in 2015, state and local authorities took in $65 million that they shared with federal agencies, according to an analysis of federal data by the Institute for Justice, a public interest law firm that represents forfeiture defendants.

While adoptive forfeitures amount to just a small percentage of the annual multi-billion dollar forfeiture haul, (1) they've come under harsh criticism for allowing local authorities to sidestep state guidelines and instead take cash and property under much more permissive federal rules.
....

Christopher Ingraham writes about politics, drug policy and all things data. He previously worked at the Brookings Institution and the Pew Research Center. Follow @_cingraham

(1) https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/11/23/cops-took-more-stuff-from-people-than-burglars-did-last-year/

* * * * *

Let's face it: if your assets were seized, you were probably guilty of something.

[msongs]

1. wonder if dems will protest this? nt

[flibbitygiblets]

2. Fantastic, let's start with the Trumps' assets. Plenty of people to arrest in that family.

[lordsummerisle]

3. The ACLU should be all over this I would think n/t

[mahatmakanejeeves]

4. From the article:

President Donald Trump himself was in favor of asset forfeiture, discussing the topic with sheriff's around the country back in February.

"So asset forfeiture, we're gonna go back on. I mean how simple can anything be. You all agree with that I think? I mean do you even understand the other side on that?" Mr. Trump said at White House round table event.

As Mr. Trump questioned members of the round table if legislation or an executive order would be needed "to put that back in business" a sheriff replied the law enforcement community just needed a sign of encouragement from the administration.

"Okay, good, you're encouraged! I love that answer. That's better than signing executive orders and then these people take it and say oh, it's so terrible. You're encouraged! Asset forfeiture, you're encouraged," Mr. Trump replied.

[C_U_L8R]

5. Confiscate Trump Tower

and that tacky Mer'de Largo palace

[Va Lefty]

6. Theft unless done by "law enforcement officials"

[mountain grammy]

7. Deportations, asset forfeiture, religious laws,

be good Germans and pretend it isn't happening.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

8. 2014 Washington Post series, "Stop and Seize"

Stop and Seize



Part 1: Stop and seize
6 Sep 2014

Part 2: Police intelligence targets cash
7 Sep 2014

Part 3: They fought the law. Who won?
8 Sep 2014

Part 4: Asset seizures fuel police spending
11 Oct 2014

Part 5: Highway seizure in Iowa fuels debate about asset-forfeiture laws
10 Nov 2014

Part 6: D.C. police plan for future seizure proceeds years in advance in city budget documents
15 Nov 2014

Follow-up: Activists and Hill staffers meet to discuss curbs to asset-forfeiture laws
2 Oct 2014

Follow-up: House lawmaker questions civil seizures in letter to Attorney General Eric Holder
24 Oct 2014

Follow-up: D.C. Council votes to overhaul asset forfeiture, give property owners new rights
18 Nov 2014

Follow-up: Federal officials issue new code of conduct for police highway seizures
21 Nov 2014

Follow-up: Lawmakers urge end to program sharing forfeited assets with state and local police
9 Jan 2015

Follow-up: Holder limits seized-asset sharing process that split billions with local, state police
16 Jan 2015

Search the forms to see how police spent billions seized from Americans
16 Jan 2015

Follow-up: Justice clarifies new limits on asset forfeiture involving local, state police
11 Feb 2015

[dalton99a]

13. Excellent series

[mahatmakanejeeves]

9. Sessions Issues Policy and Guidelines on Federal Adoptions of Assets

Attorney General Sessions Issues Policy and Guidelines on Federal Adoptions of Assets Seized by State or Local Law Enforcement
July 19, 2017

Attorney General Jeff Sessions today announced a new Department of Justice policy regarding the federal adoption of assets seized by state or local law enforcement under state law.

The Department’s new policy strengthens the civil asset forfeiture program to better protect victims of crime and innocent property owners, while streamlining the process to more easily dismantle criminal and terrorist organizations.

The policy and guidelines were formulated after extensive consultation with the Task Force on Crime Reduction and Public Safety, as well as line Assistant United States Attorneys, career officials in the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS), and career Main Justice attorneys.

[muriel_volestrangler]

10. Republican 2016 platform on asset forfeiture:

Civil asset forfeiture was originally intended
as a way to cripple organized crime through the
seizure of property used in a criminal enterprise.
Regrettably, it has become a tool for unscrupulous
law enforcement officials, acting without due
process, to profit by destroying the livelihood of
innocent individuals, many of whom never recover
the lawful assets taken from them. When the rights
of the innocent can be so easily violated, no one’s
rights are safe. We call on Congress and state
legislatures to enact reforms to protect law-abiding
citizens against abusive asset forfeiture tactics.

https://prod-static-ngop-pbl.s3.amazonaws.com/media/documents/DRAFT_12_FINAL%5b1%5d-ben_1468872234.pdf

So Sessions is just saying he lied.

[HAB911]

11. City Council To Force NYPD To Account For The Millions They Seize From Innocent NYers

Every year the NYPD seizes millions of dollars in assets from innocent New Yorkers, who often have to fight a dizzying bureaucracy to get their property back. But today the City Council is poised to pass legislation that would make the practice vastly more transparent.

The bill, which is expected to pass this afternoon, will require the NYPD to release annual reports on how much they seize from New Yorkers during stops and arrests and through the use of civil forfeiture, and account for what happens to the assets after they’re in custody.

"This first-of-its-kind transparency bill will shed light on the reasons why the NYPD has seized someone's property, whether revenue is generated from property seizure, and if an individual has been able to get their property back," said Bronx Councilman Ritchie Torres, the bill's primary sponsor. "The legislation will help ensure that the civil forfeiture process is used legitimately.”
(Update: The bill passed 46-0, with five members absent, according to Torres' office.)

[Sunlei]

12. I think about 30% of Americans don't have a bank account. corrupt police love the cash bonanza.