-Caveat Lector-
Investor's Business Daily
August 19, 1999
LACKEYS FOR THE FEDERAL LEVIATHAN
by James Bovard
It is vital that citizens have a proper respect for their elected
representatives. It's hard, though, when you look at the level of their
debate. Take what many said in the battle over asset forfeiture reform.
Asset forfeiture symbolizes arbitrary power at its worst: federal
agents can confiscate people's property based on alleged violations of more
than 200 federal laws. No proof is needed of wrong-doing: the feds merely
must make an accusation - based on nothing more than gossip or rumors
about the misuse of property.
Asset forfeiture abuses have been a national scandal since the
early 1990s. The House of Representatives finally got around to debating a
reform bill on June 24. Rep. Henry Hyde, chairman of the House Judiciary
Committee, made an eloquent appeal for the need for reform.
And then the caterwauling began.
Rep. Asa Hutchinson (R-Ark) introduced a substitute "reform" bill
that would have greatly increased federal power to confiscate property.
(Most of Hutchinson's substitute bill was written by Justice Department
lawyers.) Hutchinson demanded to know: "How does disarming law
enforcement fit into the war on drugs?"
Thus, decreasing a DEA agent's power to seize your car is the
equivalent of taking away his sidearm. Apparently, the main "armament" in
the war on drugs is the sweeping power of law enforcement over nonviolent
private citizens .
Several congressmen recited cases of gross abuses of forfeiture
power. Rep. Benjamin Gilman (R-NY) brushed off such concerns by introducing
into the record a letter he received from the superintendent of the New
York State Police that assured him that " We are aware of no instance,
since the inception of the federal equitable forfeiture sharing program,
of any case involving this agency whereby a hardship was endured by a
truly innocent owner. It is not the intention of this agency, nor, in my
opinion, the intention of law enforcement in general, to deprive truly
innocent owners of property due to the illegal use of the property by
criminals."
Thus, the fact that a police chief asserted that he was not aware
of any specific injustice should have been sufficient to allay all concerns
about any abuses.
Rep. Ed. Bryant (R-TN) debunked other congressmen's comments about
the number of people whose money was seized though they had no drugs on
them: "The way the system works in this is when there are couriers...they
either have the money or they have the drugs, but they do not have them
both... So we either find drugs on the person or money on the person,
depending which way they are going." Thus, the fact that someone is caught
with lots of money but no drugs effectively proves that they are a drug
courier.
Hyde's bill would allow judges the option to appoint counsel for
indigent citizens challenging forfeiture actions. This was denounced by
opponents as guaranteeing that taxpayers would be forced to bankroll
attorneys for every drug cartel chieftain in the hemisphere. Rep. Jim
Ramstad (R-Minn) fretted that "frivolous claims would be encouraged by this
legislation."
The problem occurs not from the government seizing people's
property - but from providing a mechanism to allow owners to get their
goods back.
Some opponents of Hyde's bill were indignant that the House
would even stoop to consider such a bill. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY)
raised the caliber of the debate with a perfect gem of logic: "The abuses
that exist, and they do, they represent the straw man in this debate
because indeed we all want to do away with the abuses."
Thus, because all members of Congress must be presumed to wish that
abuses did not occur, it is unfair and irrational to actually consider
seizure abuses when seeking to reform the law.
Rep. John Sweeney (R-NY) pleaded with his colleagues: "Can we not
strike a balance between free enterprise and criminal enterprise?" Sweeney
did not specify whether he believed wrongful seizures by government agents
should be considered "criminal enterprise."
The Hutchinson "substitute" to expand government confiscatory power
was defeated by a vote of 268-155. Afterwards, Hyde's bill passed by a vote
of 375-48. The bill now goes to the Senate. Unfortunately, the Clinton
administration, law enforcement lobbies, and many senators have their
knives out for the bill.
Reading a transcript of a congressional floor debate can be hell on
idealism. Regardless of whether this Congress trims forfeiture power,
members of Congress as a class cannot be trusted to understand - much less
uphold - citizens' constitutional rights.
TAGLINE: Bovard is the author of Freedom in Chains: The Rise of the State &
the Demise of the Citizen (St. Martin's Press, 1999). This piece is adopted
from an article in the current American Spectator.
To see the first chapter of Freedom in Chains, check out
http://www.jamesbovard.com
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