Holder Limits Seized-Asset Sharing Process that Split Billions with Local, State Police
January 18th, 2015I’d like to believe that, sometimes, good news is just good news and not some setup for more body cavity searches and surveillance.
This is Cryptogon, though, so if there is another shoe to drop, someone will post it pretty quick.
My guess is that the states will just make up ways to keep the shakedowns going.
Via: Washington Post:
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Friday barred local and state police from using federal law to seize cash, cars and other property without warrants or criminal charges.
Holder’s action represents the most sweeping check on police power to confiscate personal property since the seizures began three decades ago as part of the war on drugs.
Since 2008, thousands of local and state police agencies have made more than 55,000 seizures of cash and property worth $3 billion under a civil asset forfeiture program at the Justice Department called Equitable Sharing.
The program has enabled local and state police to make seizures and then have them “adopted” by federal agencies, which share in the proceeds. It allowed police departments and drug task forces to keep up to 80 percent of the proceeds of adopted seizures, with the rest going to federal agencies.
“With this new policy, effective immediately, the Justice Department is taking an important step to prohibit federal agency adoptions of state and local seizures, except for public safety reasons,” Holder said in a statement.
Research Credit: ottilie
My guess is that the states will just make up ways to keep the shakedowns going.
Indeed. And this move by Holder gives the Obama supporters (yes, they still exist) more warm and fuzzy feelings about their man. Justice is being served!
But let’s look at the numbers, shall we? $3 billion SINCE 2008 means approximately $500 million per year. Divide that by 50 states and you have about $10 million per state, as an average.
The tax income for the states in 2012 was almost $800 BILLION, so divide that by 50 states and the average tax income for each state was about $16 BILLION.
So it turns out that each state, on average, will lose about .0625 percent. Actually, it would be less, since the article says the federal government kept 20% of the proceeds from the seizures. That brings the figure down to .05 percent.
Put that in perspective, and you realize these are miniscule fractions of pennies on the dollar. Examples: .05 percent of 1 dollar is 5/100 of one penny. .05 percent of 2000 dollars is $1.
So, yes, the states aren’t going to be sweating this at all, given that they can just raise one of the tax rates by a pittance and nobody will even notice. But the federal government comes out looking oh so benevolent towards its citizens. Mission accomplished! Hooray for mathamatical obfuscation!
This will probably just lead to more seizures because the local police will now be able to keep 100 percent.
All state & local seizure laws are untouched by this. The federal law simply made it easier because the burden of proof was lower (or nonexistent).
Maybe this will make a difference but I’m inclined to agree with Kevin: this is a feel-good, grandstanding, photo-op for our corrupt leaders.
You can scroll down at the link for Standards of proof in state forfeiture laws
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_forfeiture_in_the_United_States
This issue garnered a tremendous amount of media attention in 2014, which may be another reason for this high-profile change.
BTW, I thought Holder was ‘stepping down’?
Helicopters Don’t Pay for Themselves
Why Eric Holder’s civil forfeiture decision won’t stop civil forfeiture abuse.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/crime/2015/01/will_eric_holder_s_civil_forfeiture_announcement_change_anything.html
Here’s another one:
How the Department of Justice is Actively Trying to Prevent Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform
The state of California is in the process of passing a civil asset forfeiture bill, and in response, the DOJ is providing talking points to the California District Attorneys’ Association so that it can more effectively fight the bill. All of this after the DOJ had previously expressed faux support for civil asset forfeiture reform.
http://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2015/09/15/how-the-department-of-justice-is-actively-trying-to-prevent-civil-asset-forfeiture-reform/