Great Lakes Wire

Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) posted an excerpt from a Sept. 5 Detroit News article reporting that law enforcement officials oppose a bill he introduced in March. He said he disagrees with law enforcement groups claiming that the bill, which proposes to limit the power of police agencies to seize personal assets, would "defund" police.

“I think it will (move) regardless of what some of the law enforcement associations are putting out that isn't true about the bill,” Walberg told the Detroit News. “The longer we let it languish, the more of these arguments will come from, frankly, people that we support in law enforcement. But they aren't giving the facts out, and they're not treating it as I think they ought to.”

Walberg introduced the bill, H.R. 1525, known as the "Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration Act of 2023" or the "FAIR Act of 2023," in March with bipartisan cosponsors.  It seeks to limit the power of police agencies to seize personal assets, requiring that all such forfeitures go through the judicial process. It would ensure legal representation in forfeitures for individuals who are unable to afford it, raise the burden of proof for the government, and impose stricter reporting requirements, the bill's text says. It does not aim to stop seizures of property owned and used by criminals to commit crimes.

The bill was reported from the House Judiciary Committee to the full House on a 16-0 vote on June 14.

If it becomes law, it would end what a Forbes Magazine article called "one of the most abusive actions in law enforcement: civil asset forfeiture. The procedure allows the authorities to seize your property—cash, car, jewelry and real estate—on the mere suspicion the asset was used in the commission of a crime or was obtained illegally. No proof required; no charges need be leveled. The Feds make it extremely difficult for innocent owners to get their property back."

Although numerous states have restricted civil forfeiture, such as by raising the burden of proof and mandating that forfeiture proceeds be directed to the state treasury, a practice called "equitable sharing" permits state and local law enforcement to collaborate with federal agencies in forfeiture cases, an article on the website of Fox22 in Bangor, Maine, said on Sept. 3. In such situations, state limitations can be circumvented, the article said: Federal authorities seize the assets, and then they have the authority to return as much as 80% of the funds to the state law enforcement agency.

"The FBI has said forfeiture is an important tool for "disrupting and dismantling criminal and terrorist organizations and punishing criminals," as well as "compensating victims and protecting communities," the article said. "Forfeiture can also serve as a deterrent to others who might be considering criminal activities," it said the FBI wrote in 2017.

In the Fox article, the Institute for Justice's Dan Alban said, "The entire system is set up in a way that stacks the cards against property owners. It's designed to cleanly and efficiently take money away from people and give it to the government and not really give them the due process that they're entitled to," added Alban, who represents a number of Americans in their civil forfeiture battles against the government.