US Restoring Asset Seizures With New Safeguards

Описание: (19 Jul 2017) The Trump administration will soon restore the ability of police to seize suspects' money and property with federal help, but the policy will come with a series of new provisions aimed at preventing the types of abuse that led the Obama Justice Department to severely curtail the practice.
At issue is asset forfeiture, which has been criticized because it allows law enforcement to take possessions without criminal convictions or, in some cases, indictments.
The policy targets so-called adoptive forfeiture, which lets local authorities circumvent more-restrictive state laws to seize property under federal law.
The proceeds are then shared with federal counterparts.
Former Attorney General Eric Holder significantly limited the practice in response to criticism that it was ripe for abuse, particularly with police seizures of small amounts of cash.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions plans to ease those restrictions, but also impose new requirements on when federal law can be used.
Key changes include requiring more detail from police agencies about probable cause justifying a seizure before federal authorities get involved.
Also, the Justice Department will have to decide more quickly whether to take on local seizures and also let property owners know their rights and the status of their belongings within 45 days of the seizure, faster than federal law requires.
Another key change will make it harder for police to seize less than $10,000 unless they have a state warrant, have made an arrest related to the seizure, have taken other contraband, such as drugs, along with the money, or the owner has confessed to a crime.
Without at least one of those conditions, authorities will need a federal prosecutor's approval to seize it under federal law.

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