Congress approved the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 over 40 years ago. President Ronald Reagan signed the bill. It created the Asset Forfeiture Program, which gives federal investigators and prosecutors the power to seize someone’s assets if they think they were acquired via criminal behavior. Not everyone who has their property confiscated, nevertheless, has been found guilty of a crime.
The government makes a lot of money when it seizes property. It is unconstitutional, according to critics. Currently, lawmakers are working to enact legislation that would change the statute that permits the seizure of American citizens’ property.
The Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration Act (FAIR Act) was once more proposed on March 9 by Representatives Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Jamie Raskin (D-MD). The measure has the support of Representatives Tony Cárdenas (D-CA), Joe Neguse (D-CO), Kelly Armstrong (R-ND), and Tom McClintock (R-CA).
The proposal would increase the standard of proof required by the government before taking someone else’s property. In order to make sure the federal government is not abusing Citizens’ rights, it also strengthens congressional monitoring of the practice. The legislation also changes the IRS statutes to better safeguard small company owners.
Rep. Walberg said in a statement that the proposal will offer “important reforms to limit government overreach” and restore Americans’ fundamental rights. He clarified that in his opinion, it is “far too simple for the government” to just seize someone’s property, sometimes without even accusing them of a crime.
Rep. McClintock agreed and added that the present forfeiture procedure, which basically finds a person guilty first, is in “direct contradiction to the basic premise of American justice.” Congressman. Raskin called the practice “lawless seizure” of individuals’ property.
In a safe deposit box at the US Private Vaults in Beverly Hills, California, Linda and Reggie Martin kept all of their savings. In a raid on the property in March 2021, the FBI took their $40,200 as well as nearly $86 million in gold, jewels, and cash from 1,400 safe-deposit boxes. The pair was one of many hundreds of people who had no criminal suspicions.
After some of them filed lawsuits, the government was found to be in violation of a ruling. The FBI was required to give the suit’s listed parties their property back. Sadly, the Martins weren’t involved in that litigation. With the assistance of the Institute for Justice, the lawyers from the prior case, they brought a class action lawsuit.
According to the Institute for Justice, the Department of Justice confiscated property worth $8 billion from American citizens between 2017 and 2021.
