VLVL2 (15): Comprehensive Forfeiture Act

[Dave Monroe]

"Under terms of a new Comprehensive Forfeiture Act
that Reagan was about to sign into law any minute now,
the government had filed an action in civil court
against Zoyd's house and land." (VL, Ch. 15, p. 357)


Comprehensive Forfeiture Act

The Comprehensive Forfeiture Act of 1984, part of the
Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984, created the
Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund to help meet the goals
of the AFP. The AFP has three primary goals: 

to punish and deter criminal activity by depriving
criminals of property used or acquired through illegal
activities; 

to enhance cooperation among foreign, federal, state,
and local law enforcement agencies through the
equitable sharing of assets recovered through this
program; and, as a by-product, 

to produce revenues to enhance forfeitures and
strengthen law enforcement.

Title 28 U.S.C. §524(c)(1) established the Assets
Forfeiture Fund, which is available to the Attorney
General without fiscal year limitation, for funding
law enforcement purposes. According to the Attorney
General's Guidelines on Seized and Forfeited Property
(AG Guidelines), payments and reimbursements are
permitted in six general categories: 

asset management expenses, 
case-related expenses, 
payment of qualified third-party interests, 
equitable sharing payments, 
program management expenses, and 
investigative expenses. 

The Attorney General's authority to share forfeited
property with participating state and local law
enforcement agencies is authorized under Title 21
U.S.C. §881(e)(1)(A). Any state or local law
enforcement agency that directly participates in an
investigation or prosecution that results in a federal
forfeiture may request an equitable share of the net
proceeds. Sharing is discretionary, and under no
circumstances is the Attorney General required to
share property in any case. 

http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/audit/plus/0112/intro.htm

And see as well ...

http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/eousa/foia_reading_room/usam/title9/crm02253.htm

Ronald Reagan made combating drug use one of his most
important issues. He said that drug abuse was one of
the gravest problems facing [America]. And he said,
"winning the war against drug abuse is one of the most
important, the most urgent issues confronting us
today" (NBC News). And as soon as his second term
began he made a great effort to fulfill his promises.
January 21st of 1984 marked the first day that changes
were made in the Reagan administration regarding
drugs. He essentially gave the FBI with DEA
jurisdiction to enforce drug laws and investigate drug
cases. He also made the FBI responsible for reporting
what progress they had made during investigations, so
they would be somewhat accountable for increasing or
decreasing drug use. Reagan described it giving the
drug problem the kind of focus it needs. Also during
Ronald Reagan’s term a "Office of Director of National
and International Drug Operations and Policy" was
formed by congress to further combat the drug problem.
Two laws were passed in 1984, the Comprehensive Crime
Act and the Narcotics Act of 1984. Congress also
established a drug policy board "because it found that
drug trafficking was estimated to be an $80 billion a
year industry; only 5 to 15 percent of the drugs
imported into the country were interdicted; and
controlling the supply of drugs was thought to be a
key to reducing the drug-related crime epidemic" ....

Congress and the Reagan administration did not stop
there, in 1984 they continued to pass legislation
pertaining to illegal drugs. They passed the Aviation
Drug-Trafficking Control Act. Which would require
Federal Aviation Association (FAA) administers to
revoke any Air Certificates and Aircraft Registrations
for anyone convicted of a drug-related crime. Some of
the most important legislation that was passes was
under the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984.
This contained one of the most controversial narcotic
related laws in history, which was the Comprehensive
Forfeiture Act of 1984. This law revised previous
criminal forfeiture acts. "Today few in the Congress
or the law enforcement community fail to recognize
that the traditional criminal sanctions of fine and
imprisonment are inadequate to deter or punish the
enormously profitable trade in dangerous drugs ...
Clearly, if law enforcement efforts to combat
racketeering and drug trafficking are to be
successful, they must include an attack on the
economic aspects of these crimes. Forfeiture is the
mechanism through which such an attack may be made"
.... This law has been the source of many legal
battles and led people to accuse the government of
unlawfully confiscating their property and in many
cases the people that lost property may not even be
charged with a crime, let alone convicted of one....

http://www.killer-essays.com/Sociology/smu285.shtml


	
		
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