Everything You NEED to Know About Rand Paul’s Civil Asset Forfeiture PREVENTION Plan

Paul is going to bat for everyday Americans targeted by governmental civil asset forfeiture laws

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Civil asset forfeiture laws are being abused with surprising regularity. However, you won’t hear a peep about those abuses from the mainstream media.

Senator Rand Paul is stepping up to the plate to reign in the abuse.

Paul is Sponsoring the FAIR Act

The Kentucky senator is sponsoring the FAIR Act, short for Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration. The surprising twist is the Act is cosponsored by a Democrat. None other than Cory Booker (D-NJ) is sponsoring the Act alongside Paul.

The bipartisan bill was written to protect Americans against civil forfeiture. There is an argument to be made that civil asset forfeiture is necessary in rare situations. However, those situations are few and far between.

Use your mind’s eye to imagine yourself in a situation where you are holding a considerable amount of cash. Carrying wads of hundred dollar bills is not a crime. However, civil asset forfeiture laws sets the stage for government to confiscate that cash.

As an example, there is a video going viral on YouTube in which a Marine combat veteran, Stephen Lara, is stopped by the Nevada Highway Patrol. The patrol’s logic for making the stop is that Lara was tailing a truck without sufficient space between the vehicles.

The trooper’s discussion with Lara led to an admission that nearly $90,000 in cash was in the vehicle. The patrol officer seized that life savings, giving it to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration.

The irony is Lara’s money was taken yet he was not charged with a crime. In fact, Lara wasn’t even arrested. Rand Paul is on a mission to prevent a similar situation from occurring with you and your loved ones.

The FAIR Act will do exactly that.

Why Civil Forfeiture Law is on the Books

Civil forfeiture is a government’s practice in which an individual’s money or property are taken. Mere probable cause is necessary to take one’s cash. If there is suspicion of any wrongdoing, an officer of the state can take one’s cash without filing a charge or obtaining a criminal conviction.

Probable cause is essentially a meaningless standard for seizing cash and property. The seizing of property involves government using a civil suit against the cash or other property as opposed to its owner. The owner of the cash or property is then tasked with navigating a challenging and expensive process to retrieve the cash.

Though there might be the occasional circumstance in which civil forfeiture makes sense, Rand Paul argues it is inherently unjust. Government officials, be it on the federal or state level, should not be permitted to seize cash or other private property.

Civil Forfeiture Turns Innocent People Into Victims

In most civil forfeiture cases, the property owner is tasked with finding savvy legal counsel. Retaining a seasoned attorney with success in such cases is difficult. Many such victims give up, allowing the state to keep the cash or other private property.

Paul highlights how the roots of civil forfeiture date back to the medieval era of England. Antecedent, meaning a preceding event, was relied upon to seize water vessels operated by pirates. Civil forfeiture occurred at an even higher frequency during the war on drugs.

Paul admits civil forfeiture is useful when targeting drug kingpins yet that is the extent of its merit. Civil forfeiture is regularly used against racial minorities and those living in poverty. Race and class tend to overlap, making civil forfeiture sting all the more.

Paul’s Plan for Change

Paul’s sponsoring of the FAIR Act is designed to thwart equitable sharing programs, guaranteeing state efforts to safeguard citizen rights. The bottom line is that federal government overreach should not supersede citizen rights.

Paul’s proposed legislation would also eliminate any potential financial incentive for the seizure of cash or other personal property. Forfeiture proceeds would be moved from the Justice Department Assets Forfeiture Fund to a general fund overseen by the Treasury.

The Kentucky senator also has plans to hike the standard for evidence. If Paul has his way, the standard necessary for civil asset forfeiture would increase from a preponderance of evidence.

The new standard would set the bar at clear and convincing evidence, indicating high probability of a crime.

Facilitating Challenges to Forfeiture

Ideally, everyday people would have the opportunity to challenge civil asset forfeiture with ease. Paul agrees with such facilitation through facilitation and individual liberation. The Kentucky senator desires to guarantee access to legal counsel for those considered indigent property owners.

Paul also desires mandatory judicial oversight in all civil asset forfeiture cases. Though such cases probably won’t completely disappear, the standard to confiscate private property should be significantly higher.

The proposed alterations align with the philosophical underpinnings of libertarianism, an ideology championed by Paul.

A Brighter Future is Ahead

If Paul is successful, the government will no longer be able to steal one’s cash or other personal property on a mere whim.

If you agree with Paul, contact your representatives in Congress to express your support for the FAIR Act.