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Hyde's
Civil
Asset
Forfeiture
Reform
Act
Passes
House
Easily
6/25/99
(press release from the Drug
Policy Foundation, http://www.dpf.org)
WASHINGTON, June 24 -- The
Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act of 1999, a bill sponsored by Reps. Henry
Hyde (R-IL), John Conyers (D-MI), Bob Barr (R-GA) and Barney Frank (D-MA),
sailed through the House of Representatives by a 375-48 margin at 5:05pm
today.
"This is the most important
property-rights legislation to come out of the House this year," said Drug
Policy Foundation Senior Policy Analyst Scott Ehlers. "Americans
are a step closer to being protected from some of the worst abuses of police
power."
Ehlers said that proponents
of the bill were hoping that it would pass by a wide enough margin for
the Senate to take notice. "The House has clearly and resoundingly
said that property rights are important and that the Senate should pass
this bill."
An amendment by Reps. Asa
Hutchinson (R-AR) and Anthony Weiner (D-NY), which would have watered down
H.R. 1658 and strengthened civil asset forfeiture laws, failed by a 268-155
vote. H.R. 1658 would make numerous changes to civil forfeiture law,
including:
-
Forcing the government to prove
that seized property is related to a crime, as opposed to the current practice
of the owners' having to prove that their property is not guilty;
-
Creating an "innocent owner"
defense, whereby property owners unaware of criminal activity occurring
on their property could recover their property;
-
Providing indigent defendants
with appointed counsel; and
-
Eliminating the cost-bond requirement,
which currently requires property owners to pay up to $5,000 or 10 percent
of the seized property's value in order to contest the seizure in court.
(Thanks to the many of you
who responded to our asset forfeiture alerts. We will alert you when
there is a bill to lobby for in the Senate. Visit http://www.fear.org
for further information.)
-- END --
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Issue #96, 6/25/99
Governor of New Mexico Calls Drug War Failed -- Calls for Discussion of Alternatives | Hyde's Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act Passes House Easily | Vancouver's Cannabis Cafe, Hemp BC Closed | Activist Banned from Talking About Marijuana | NEW YORK: Staten Island Assemblyman Wants Needle Exchange Banned | IDAHO: "Drug Bust: The Longest War" TV Special Preempted by Drug Testing Speech in Boise | News in Brief | Supreme Court Roundup | WASHINGTON: Free Video and Lunch-Talk Series | Editorial: Can't Keep a Good Idea Down
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