Labrador co-sponsors forfeiture reform bill

COEUR d'ALENE — Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, announced Tuesday he is co-sponsoring a bill that aims to reform the federal civil asset forfeiture process.

But, if the bill is successful in Congress and becomes law, local law enforcement agencies will see little change in their day-to-day operations.

The Due Process Act, authored by Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., was written, according to a press release from Labrador's office, with the intent of strengthening protections for individuals opposing forfeiture — a legal action that allows law enforcement agencies to seize property or assets used or derived from criminal activity. States have their own civil forfeiture laws, and Coeur d'Alene Police Chief Lee White told The Press Wednesday that local agencies only participate in federal asset forfeiture when they are assisting entities like the FBI or DEA in a criminal investigation.

"I think for many agencies up here, the impact is going to be very limited," White said. "Last year our agency handled 42,502 calls for service. And we held proceedings on a total of two cases that went through the federal asset forfeiture program."

White added that while the impact may be limited in North Idaho, for law enforcement agencies in states close to the border with Mexico, such as the police department in Mesa, Ariz. where he previously served as assistant police chief, the impact could be dramatic.

According to the news release, the Labrador-sponsored bill elevates the burden of proof by requiring the government to prove its forfeiture case with "clear and convincing" evidence, and gives federal judges discretion to decrease a forfeiture "should it be found disproportionate with the underlying wrongdoing." If passed, it would also require the creation of two federal forfeiture databases which, according to the release, would make information such as a catalog of federal forfeitures more readily available to the public.

"This bill levels the playing field and takes an important step to guarantee the rights of property owners. It also ensures citizens have information and assistance to contest government seizures," Labrador said in the press release. "While forfeiture can be an important tool for law enforcement, it also has been abused because of the financial incentive to seize property from Americans without due process."

Prior to a phone interview with The Press, White reviewed the contents of the bill, which would amend portions of Title 18 in United States Code.

"Based on the actions of a few agencies in the U.S. that have inappropriately used asset forfeiture statutes, I agree that there's probably a need to tighten up the process and the oversight of the programs," White said. "Personally, I always support reform to eliminate the potential for abuse. However, I'm not sure it takes a 23-page amendment to accomplish that."

White added that forfeiture is a valuable tool in the fight against organized crime, particularly drug trafficking and money laundering, and urged caution when attempting to reform the system. Weakening the law, he said, could bring it to the point where it is no longer effective at all in combating criminal syndicates.

As an example of how the program can be successful, White told The Press about an incident from his time in Arizona. Multiple law enforcement agencies had obtained search warrants to go into desert homes associated with several drug traffickers that had been arrested, and White recalled a discovery he made when walking into a room at one of the homes.

"No kidding, there was over $1 million in cash sitting in the room getting ready to be packaged and shipped over the border to the drug lords down there," White said. "The best way to hurt those criminal enterprises, frankly, is in the pocket book. We can take the meth coming north all day long and it doesn't affect them nearly as much as it does when you punch them in the wallet."

White added that, when "used appropriately," money seized through forfeiture goes directly toward things like combating drug trafficking and victim support programs.

"When we conduct forfeiture proceedings, we are doing it against really bad people," he said. "The average person at a traffic stop does not have to worry about having $100 in their pocket, it does not work like that. There has to be a nexus between an ongoing criminal enterprise and the assets we are looking at."