from: http://www.fear.org/menuidx2.html Click Here: <A HREF="http://www.fear.org/menuidx2.html">Index Frame</A> ----- What's new at FEAR Last update May 3, 2000 President Clinton signed the Civil Asset Forfeiture Act of 2000 into law !!!!!! On April 25, President Clinton signed the Hyde bill into law. By its terms, the procedural reforms take effect 120 days after enactment. By our count, that means they take effect August 23. (The only provisions that take effect earlier are the reinstitution of the fugitive disentitlement doctrine -- a judicially created mechanism by which courts refused to let claimants defend their forfeiture cases if they were fugitives from justices in a pending criminal case. The Supreme Court declared the fugitive disentitlement doctrine unauthorized by statute in the 1996 case Degen v. United States, 517 U.S. 820 (1996). This statute resurrects that doctrine (in one of the compromises that Reno insisted on.) For a little recent history -- the original version of HR 1658 passed overwhelmingly - 375 to 48 - in the House of Representatives in June, 1999. The momentum from that surprising landslide in our favor (thanks to the overwhelming public support from people like you who wrote and called their Congressmen) propelled this bill past the outraged, self-interested lobbyists from the police unions, who almost stalled our reforms out in the Senate. The Senate passed a watered down version of HR 1658 on March 27, 2000, and on April 11, Rep. Hyde presented the amended version of HR 1658, to the House of Representatives where it was adopted as amended. The compromise bill waters down the original Hyde bill's provisions somewhat, but it is still a strong positive change. The best features are: (1) the cost bond is abolished, (2) there will now be court appointed counsel for indigents (with exceptions), (3) property can be returned to the property owner pending trial on a showing of hardship, and (4) there is a strengthened innocent owner defense that applies across the board to virtually all civil forfeiture statutes. Even with the compromise the new law will go a long way to level the playing field for poor and middle class forfeiture victims -- particularly innocent owners -- and will force the U.S. Attorney's Office to take a look at the merits of the case, instead of having the seizing agency win most cases by default when the claimant fails to file a claim and cost bond on time. Posted here, for your reading pleasure, are the following materials on the new law. Watch this website or subscribe to FEAR-List for news about further developments as they happen. For more history of this legislation and previous unsuccessful bills from the past few years, see the Federal Legislation page on this website. * The full text of HR 1658, as passed by the House and Senate * The Congressional Record from April 11, 2000, including * Rep. Henry Hyde's speech (which acknowledges FEAR's efforts) * the legislative history of the bill * some interesting statistics on the cost of this bill and the number of forfeitures annually * speeches by other Congressmen: * Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas * Mr. Barr of Georgia (a co-sponsor of the original Hyde bill) & his further comments * Mr. Sweeney of New York * Mr. Conyers of Michigan (a long-time forfeiture reformer and co-sponsor of the original Hyde bill) & his further omments * Mr. Weiner of New York (co-sponsor of the DOJ forfeiture bill) * Mr. Udall of Colorado This is a major victory for FEAR, even though Congress adopted only a small portion of our reform package, and gave in to DOJ demands which made the law worse in some areas. Clearly there is much more work to be done, but this shows us that we are on the right track, and that we can achieve our goals, even if we are David to the police lobby's Goliath. Thanks again all of you who have worked so hard for so many years, believing in the impossible. Somehow, we did it! It may not be all that we wanted in our reform bill (in fact, it's a far cry from that) but it took years for the government to get all of these powers and exceptions to the Constitution, and it will take a similar amount of time and effort on our part to roll things back to the way they were before 1984. This is a giant first step! Let's keep moving forward! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ A new forfeiture victim horror story -- Charlotte Carroll, United States v. 19410 Chandlee Mill Road -- has been added to our victim story collection. Thank's Gwyn Hoerauf, for writing this story up for our website! If you have a compelling forfeiture victim story that is recent or ongoing, and the victim is willing to talk to the press and legislators, please e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ New to the FEAR Law Library The Forfeiture Exception: Warrantless seizures (and searches) in the wake of Florida v. White An original, up to date, and never before published law review article by Nova Southeastern University law student Adam Weisholtz, written in the fall of 1999. Thanks Adam, for letting us publish it! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Forfeiture: Another One of the Faces of Tyranny", an essay by Roy Timpe, FEAR's state coordinator for Pennsylvania. FEAR flyers now available on this website in Adobe Acrobat format. Print them out, photocopy and hand them out where ever freedom-loving citizens can be found. The F.E.A.R. trifold flyer explains why we need forfeiture reform. "What To Do If Your Property Is Seized," helps forfeiture victims understand the process and how to defend themselves. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Volunteer! FEAR is searching for talented volunteers for our cause. If you would like to volunteer but aren't sure what you'd like to do, check out Leon's chart of committees and goals. And read Tom Gordon's summary of what v olunteers can do to help our cause. Then fill out our Activist Application form. Volunteers who accept committee or task assignments get access to the Activists Only section of this Website, where they can share their accomplishments, ideas and projects with fellow activists. Now is the time for you to volunteer! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Forfeiture victims - Need a shoulder to cry on? Advice on how to cope? Just want to tell your story to a sympathetic ear? We now have an active victim support committee, manned by forfeiture survivors. E-mail our victim support committee at [EMAIL PROTECTED] We need more volunteer attorneys to give legal advice to forfeiture victims. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Newly discovered evidence that the Founding Fathers feared forfeiture: The rough draft of the Declaration of Independence contained, in its list of the King's abuses for which the Colonists declared their independence -- "he has incited treasonable insurrections of our fellow citizens with the allurements of forfeiture and confiscation of our property." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ FEAR's Position Paper -- "FEDERAL ASSET FORFEITURE LAWS NEED TO BE AMENDED TO RESTORE DUE PROCESS AND PROTECT PROPERTY RIGHTS IN THE FORFEITURE PROCESS: F.E.A.R.'s Proposal For Reform" has now been partially updated and is available for review on this website. This is a work in progress, so please e-mail us your corrections and comments. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The latest DOJ annual report on forfeiture -- for fiscal year 1996! -- is now available on-line and in hard copy. To order a (free) hard copy, call the DOJ Office of Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering, Publications Department, at 202-616-9327, or write U.S. DOJ, Crim. Div., ASMLS (Asset Forfeiture & Money Laundering Section), 1400 New York Ave. N.W., Bond Building, Room l0l00, Washington, D.C. 20005. To get the complete picture on federal forfeiture statistics, you'll also need the Treasury Department's Asset Forfeiture annual reports. Call Charles Ott at 202-622-2251, or write to Treasury Forfeiture Fund, 740 15th Street, NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20220. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lawyers -- Sign up for our On-Line Forfeiture Attorney Directory. Forfeiture victims need this directory to find experienced forfeiture lawyers in their area. For only $100 a year (or some volunteer work for FEAR), you can have your own web page in the FEAR Forfeiture Attorney Directory, complete with your own photo and your relevant credentials -- and the money goes to a good cause -- FEAR Foundation. Just fill out the on-line application, then mail your payment and a color or B&W photo to F.E.A.R.'s Washington D.C. address, and we'll have your listing posted on our website in just a few days. For more information about these services, see the Lawyer Services page. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ To keep on top of forfeiture news as it breaks, subscribe to FEAR-List, our fr ee, moderated e-mail bulletin service. Anyone can subscribe. The FEAR website is undergoing renovations -- please pardon our mess! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Get your F.E.A.R. tee-shirt! Black, 100% cotton, totally cool T-shirt, with this excellent graphic by artist Mike Tofanelli of Sacramento. Available in M, L, XL sizes. Send $15 plus $3 postage (Priority Mail) to: F.E.A.R. PO Box 33985 Washington, DC 20033-3985 ----- Aloha, He'Ping, Om, Shalom, Salaam. Em Hotep, Peace Be, All My Relations. Omnia Bona Bonis, Adieu, Adios, Aloha. Amen. Roads End <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html <A HREF="http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
