Seizure of Assets Under Drug Law Hotly Debated

A presidential commission on drug laws got an earful of conflicting testimony Wednesday on whether law enforcement is out of control in its zeal to seize the property of people linked with drugs.

San Francisco attorney Alan Ellis, representing the National Assn. of Criminal Defense Lawyers, told the commission that law enforcement has “run amok” and “turned the war on drugs into a war on the Constitution.”

“A tide of abuse of innocent people is sweeping the nation,” Ellis said. “Fortunately, recognition of forfeiture law abuse is now dawning on the public and in legislative halls.”

The 24-member, bipartisan President’s Commission on Model State Drug Laws, created by President Bush in October, is charged with examining a full range of state and federal drug laws and determining whether uniformity is needed. The San Diego hearing was the first of five across the country, to be followed by a report in May.

Ellis’ testimony drew sharp rebuttal from the attorneys general of California, Mississippi and Louisiana, and prosecutors from Arizona, Oklahoma and Cook County, Ill. All said asset forfeiture laws help deter drug traffickers.

“We must ‘follow the money,’ to quote Deep Throat of Watergate fame,” said Richard Wintory, assistant district attorney of Oklahoma County, Okla., representing the National District Attorneys Assn.

Given the heavy presence of prosecutors and police chiefs on the commission, it is doubtful it will recommend scaling back the asset seizure effort. But the commission’s report will add to the growing debate on the legal effectiveness of seizing cars, real estate, furnishings, bank accounts and other assets of people tied to the drug trade. A congressional committee has already shown interest in taking up the issue.

Since the seizure law went into effect in 1985, the federal government has seized $2.6 billion worth of assets in 167,000 cases, with the lion’s share of the money then being given to law enforcement agencies to fund drug-fighting efforts. An untold amount of property has also been seized under state laws.