Eric Holder Issues Guidelines to Limit Abuse of Civil Asset Forfeiture

Eric Holder and the Department of Justice have issued new guidelines to federal law enforcement agencies that will stop them from using assets seized by local and state governments through civil asset forfeiture.

The guidelines were announced in a press release from the Justice Department that provided for a limited exception to the rule only when public safety is imminently threatened.

"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," said Attorney General Holder.  "This is the first step in a comprehensive review that we have launched of the federal asset forfeiture program."

The new policy allows the government to adopt assets seized by state and local government only if the assets are firearms, explosives, ammunition, or child pornography. That means that the federal government can not take cash or monetary assets seized by local or state governments if the federal government was not a party to the investigation or operation that resulted in their seizure.

The reforms should help to reassure civil liberties advocates, who have documented cases where assets such as cash and vehicles have been taken by local police forces despite the lack of a guilty verdict or even evidence that suggests criminal wrongdoing.

The Washington Post reports that since Sept. 11 2001, police have seized roughly $2.5 billion dollars without warrants or criminal indictments. Oftentimes, the victims are motorists who the police pressure into allowing them search the vehicle. The police then seize whatever cash or valuable items are inside.

The way the law is set up makes its extremely difficult for citizens to recoup the stolen funds because they have to show where every penny of the seized value came from, and that each penny was acquired legally. Most people cannot afford the legal fees or make time for all this work, and just allow the police to keep the stolen money without a fight. 

The directive will not affect local law enforcement agencies, meaning local police departments will continue with this abusive practice.