Editorial, 7/21: Sessions wrong to reinstate forfeiture practice – Lincoln Journal Star

The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution protects Americans against unreasonable searches and seizures. The same can no longer be said about the Justice Department.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a directive Wednesday reinstating the controversial practice of adoptive forfeiture, expanding the ability of law enforcement to take possession of assets belonging to suspects even if they havent been or wont be charged with a crime under civil law and later profit from the assets so long as the low bar of probable cause is met.

This is why adoptive forfeiture is a bad deal for Americans, and more than two dozen states restricted the process in recent years. In few places will Sessions change be felt more acutely than Nebraska, a leader in forfeiture reform.

Last year, the Legislature passed a laudable measure that banned permanent asset seizures by law enforcement until a suspect was convicted of a crime and limited when the less-restrictive civil forfeiture process could be used.

Now, its all but moot, as local law enforcement can skirt more restrictive state laws in favor of the far more permissive federal standards.

Although Sessions directive includes modest safeguards against abuse most notably, requiring more detail from law enforcement on probable cause and notifying people of their rights his agency took a net step backward. His document doesnt address the major concerns about the practice of forfeiture:

* The Constitution requires the presumption of innocence until a person is found guilty in court. By requiring those whose assets are seized to sue for their return, the courts are essentially holding those people as guilty until being proved innocent.

* Equitable sharing, which was suspended along with adoptive forfeiture at the federal level in 2015, allows law enforcement agencies to keep up to 80 percent of proceeds while sharing at least 20 percent with federal authorities. This federal policy encourages local law enforcement to seize assets and police for profit.

* By allowing law enforcement agencies to circumvent state laws and instead operate under the far less onerous federal guidelines, the Justice Department has overruled the local control Republicans vociferously defend.

This sudden pivot in favor of restoring the adoptive forfeiture runs counter to the platform adopted at last summers Republican National Convention, which accurately notes: When the rights of the innocent can be so easily violated, no ones rights are safe. We call on Congress and state legislatures to enact reforms to protect law-abiding citizens against abusive asset forfeiture tactics.

Seizing the ill-gotten gains of a person tried and convicted in court is wholly defensible for local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. But Sessions directive reopens a dangerous Pandoras box that disregards both the due process rights of Americans and self-rule of state governments.

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Editorial, 7/21: Sessions wrong to reinstate forfeiture practice - Lincoln Journal Star