Forfeiture Books

The following case concerning property forfeiture comes from Rhode Island and is very illustrative as to the real goal of such government action: greed. Luz Rivera of Providence, RI was arrested in 1995 and charged with drug dealing. The police also confiscated $860 from her apartment after a search. Ms. Rivera had the charges against her dismissed in 1996 after she successfully proved she was at work and not at her apartment at the time of the alleged drug deal. Being found innocent of the charges, she naturally requested that her $860 be returned and obtained the necessary court order for this to happen. The state refused to honor the court order and Ms. Rivera contacted the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties union to assist her in obtaining the return of her money. The ACLU has threatened the state with a contempt order but the state attorney general's office has filed a motion to have the 1996 order requiring the return of the confiscated cash null and void. The state meanwhile maintains Ms. Rivera's cash was lawfully forfeited. Considering Ms. Rivera has been cleared of any charges of illegal activity, what is the basis of the state's claim? Very simply, it is the basis of greed. The state government wants Ms. Rivera's cash and has decided to keep it, all moral considerations, notwithstanding. A more clear example of the real reason behind property forfeiture could not be given. It is money pure and simple. Citizens have it and the government wants it.

The New York City Police Department has learned a valuable lesson from state and national law enforcement agencies. The Department will implement its "Zero Tolerance Drinking and Driving Initiative" sometime within the next month according to Police Commissioner Howard Safir. The stated goal of this new program is to discourage drunk driving and means anyone arrested for drunk driving in NYC will have their car seized until acquittal of the charges. The policy is based on the fact that city code permits police to seize "instrumentality's of crime." Commissioner Safir expects the program will result in thousands of cars being seized in the near future. According to criminal lawyer Gerald Lefcourt, this is a serious misuse of the forfeiture laws as they were not intended for this type of situation.

Mr. Lefcourt is right in his supposition that the forfeiture laws were not originally intended to address crimes such as drunk driving. Originally they were to punish drug dealers by confiscating the goods they bought and used with the proceeds from the drug trade. However, it has not taken government agencies long to realize the full potential of forfeiture laws since any property used in committing a crime or that results from illegal activities can be seized. This provides government an easy way to take from the public whatever it wants and is a natural motivator for unscrupulous, unethical and illegal actions by the government. In this case, if the city of New York wishes to discourage drunk driving it can increase jail time for a conviction, but its much more lucrative to confiscate a nice car.

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One of the graces of living in the United States is the ability to buy affordable real estate. The open market provides both buyer and seller a plot of Mother Earth in order to raise their children or develop a nest egg for the future. One of the casualties of the War on Drugs is legislation aimed at the drug dealer, could deeply effect the land-owning taxpayer. The following example will give you a clearer understanding. In the summer of 2000, state police discovered 517

marijuana plants growing in an isolated hollow in eastern Kentucky, unbeknownst to the property owners, Dale and Diedre Hall.

Authorities suspected the family, based on a tip from a drug informant. According to the Hall's family lawyer, police were unable to get enough evidence to make an arrest, let alone to secure an indictment or a conviction. Nevertheless, the Halls owe the state a little more than $1 million under a 1994 law that taxes marijuana dealers $1,000 a plant and penalizes those who do not pay the tax before they are caught. The law, upheld by the Kentucky Supreme Court, was modeled on statutes in other states that has passed muster with the US Supreme Court. The law has brought in close to $300,000 in revenue, at least some of which came from drug dealers who made confidential payments to the state.

The tax assessment does not require a conviction. The law is enacted when police report on the seizure or discovery of illegal drugs, which they are required to do within 72 hours. The Hall's lawyer said the tax blocks his client access to the judicial system, challenging the provision of the law that requires suspected dealers to post a bond equal to the amount owed before they can file a protest.

The area where the Hall's reside is located in coal country near the Kentucky-West Virginia border. The depressed coal industry has left many out-of-work coal miners to fend for themselves. Usually they do it through the cash crop of marijuana grown on parkland or, in the Hall's case, private property. According to an article by APB News, the 1994 law requires marijuana growers and dealers to buy tax stamps at the rate of $3.50 per gram or $1,000 per plant. While the process is confidential and payment of taxes cannot be used as evidence in a criminal case, the civil penalties are added to any criminal ones once someone is caught, along with an additional penalty for failure to pay, said state Rep. Charles Geveden. "It's not a ruse or an attempt to legalize marijuana," said Geveden, a Democrat from Wickliffe, in western Kentucky, who was one of the law's sponsors. "What it does is it creates a monetary penalty as well as the criminal penalty."

Too little too late for the Halls, who acquired the American dream of owning land through hard work and sacrifice. What saved them from total financial ruin was Dale's decision to follow Diedre's advice

about offshore asset protection. Now the Hall's life savings won't be burned up in tax levies from the discovery of some hemp plants.

Excellent description of the legal authorities on civil and criminal asset forfeiture in state and federal courts.

A good practice manual for the attorney with no previous experience in this area.

Follow the money." Following the money in the Watergate scandal of the 1970s was a key development in that investigation and underscored the essential role of money in the underlying criminal activity.

Since that time, law enforcement realized that new strategies needed to be developed in order to stem the mounting societal costs associated with financially motivated crime and to take the financial incentive out of criminal activity. These strategies included the freezing, seizing, and confiscation of assets - better known as asset forfeiture.

Asset Forfeiture: Practice and Procedure in State and Federal Courts is a "how to," practical guide to the common legal and practical issues faced by the asset forfeiture litigator. Written for attorneys, law enforcement and the general public, this book:

Is the only single-volume work summarizing state and federal asset forfeiture procedures
Highlights key elements of all 50 states in 21 easy-to-read summary charts

Provides strategies for law and motion and civil discovery practice relating to state and federal forfeiture actions
Contrasts state and federal forfeiture procedures, including a chart of the distribution formula for all 50 states
Is the only book that addresses ethical issues and discusses the state and federal ethical codes relating to asset forfeiture.

This book is destined to become the leading treatise and reference guide in the field of asset forfeitures for federal and state practitioners. Through a myriad of topics and numerous valuable tables this book summarizes and compares federal and state asset forfeiture practice. It is easy to read, concise and practical. Since I exclusively practice asset forfeitures, I find myself frequently referring to the book for a citation, a point of law, or an analysis. The book has quickly become my favorite reference guide in the complex practice of asset forfeitures. I highly recommend this book for the asset forfeiture practitioner and as a valuable addition to one's asset forfeiture library.

My firm took on a civil asset forfeiture case and I received the daunting task of trying to get the case to court. I found Mr. Sibley's book most informative, as it made clear an area of law that is unfamiliar to most. The book includes sample pleadings that I found very helpful. The area of civil asset forfeiture is complex, and Mr. Sibley's book is a must-read for anyone who is considering tackling it.

This is truly a BIBLE to handling civil forefeiture cases! It contains everything you need in battling with the government in forefeiture cases.

Mr. Sibley has taken the mystery, wonder and guess work out of the Federal Foreiture arena. This Practice Manual is structured to equip any attorney with the knowledge and skill necessary to challenge a property seizure by the Feds efficiently, effectively and with confidence. As a sole practicioner criminal defense attorney the Manual is perfectly suited as a practice guide for the occasional forfeiture matters I handle. The time savings alone are invaluable as compared to conducting research from scratch and the ease of use allows for quicker, more complete planning of case stategy and preparation. I find the CD format ideally suited for this type of manual as compared to a 600 page book. If you handle any Federal Forfeiture matters this manual will provide you with the amunition and armor needed to do battle with the government.

This volume is without doubt the most comprehensive and authoritaive source available for this subject matter. An invaluable tool for lawyers and others working in this area.

This reviewer as well as others in the Criminal field have had many occasions to call on the author who has freely given valuable legal advice,regarding this subject matter where no case law or statutes exist. His book desperately needs updating but still seems to be the da's office handbook when a question arises. I'm positive an update will be forth coming for 2009.

Hyde obviously wrote this book because some constituent of his, probably as crooked as most politicians got taken to the cleaners. It is the unfortunate dilemma that we are in that people of power can get influenced so. My thoughts are that Henry probably felt he was next in line to get caught by the Feds and he figured he had better do something to limit his liability. Shameful I gave this two stars because he utilized proper english.

Hyde's disclosure of this little understood but heinous law is excellent. As Hyde explains, under civil forfeiture laws your private property can be taken without finding you guilty of anything. Sound unAmerican? You bet! But it is all legal. Hyde clearly discusses the background and current practices and recommends reform in this area.