Articles Critically Examining Police and Prosecutor Use (and Abuse) of Forfeiture Laws
Last update May2, 2007

April 2007:
 Civil Asset Forfeiture: Why Law Enforcement Has Changed its Motto from "To Serve and Protect" to "Show Me the Money"
by Jared Shoemaker, 31 page study published in the Spring 2007 edition of Justice Policy Journal
Abstract:
Despite its failure to achieve its desired objectives, the War on Drugs continues on into a fourth decade with disastrous effects and extensive collateral damage. The current article explores civil asset forfeiture as one motivation that keeps the current drug policy intact. Specifically, it advances the premise that the current state of civil asset forfeiture law creates goal displacement that motivates law enforcement agencies to implement drug enforcement strategies that aggressively pursue civil asset forfeitures as a means of supplementing their budgets rather than as a legitimate tool for decreasing the supply of illicit drugs. The article explores how this goal displacement not only negatively impacts the progress of the War on Drugs, but also how it leads to disregard for individual due process rights, sometimes with tragic and life-altering consequences for innocent individuals. A brief discussion of the necessary reforms to civil asset forfeiture law is included.

March 2007:
Sarisota Herald-Tribune, FL:
Forfeiture Contracts Still Being Used
FEAR.org:
"Contraband Confiscation Agreement" circumstances  ruled unconstitutional violation of due process: judge orders Bradenton police to return $10,200 or use court system to file forfeiture proceedings. 
Bradenton Police Department continues policy of bypassing court system by coercing victims into signing forfeiture contract waiving right to day in court.
          ABC News:
Report Says FBI Violated Patriot Act Guidelines
Muskogee Daily Phoenix editorial:
Vehicle forfeiture sounds like unusual punishment

February 2007:
Missoula Independent:
Proving a negative
Sarisota Herald-Tribune:
Judge casts doubt on police forfeiture program
Sarisota Herald-Tribune:
Seizures are suspect
 Ruling should cause Bradenton police to halt waiver policy
Bradenton.com:
Bradenton PD backs confiscation policy
Department to keep suspect's property regardless of charge

January 2007:
Sarisota Herald-Tribune:
Bradenton police plan to spend disputed cash
Officials want to buy guns and gear with the disputed money.
San Francisco Chronicle:
RICHMOND: Court setback for car confiscations


The website, "The Law Mall" has a page that contains a lot of information about forfeiture and defense against "profit-driven" prosecutors. The title of the page is: "Prosecutorial Abuse under State and Federal Forfeiture Laws and What to Do If You Are a Victim of Prosecutor's Forfeiture Abuse". 5/30/03

Michigan's Mackinac Center for Public Policy has released an excellent study entitled "Reforming Property Forfeiture Laws to Protect Citizens’ Rights", by Donald J. Kochan, J. D.  Among other reforms, it advocates abolishing forfeiture funds being paid to the seizing agencies and informants, prohibiting federal adoption of state forfeitures, shifting the burden of proof to the government, increased protections for innocent owners and third parties, and requiring police to make public justifications for every forfeiture they pursue.

The Government Bungles Management of Seized Casino, FEAR-List Bulletin posted by Leon Felkins, 4/3/98

Christie's to Auction Diamonds Seized by U.S. Customs Service, FEAR-List Bulletin posted by Leon Felkins, 4/2/98

A Blindfolded Justice Gropes For Purpose, Posted to FEAR-List by Leon Felkins, 3/29/98 (cops profit from forfeitures)

NBC's "Dateline" Wins Top Honors For Its Louisiana Forfeiture Expose,  FEAR-List Bulletin posted by Leon Felkins, 3/14/98

Let Us Pray Our Government Doesn't Notice This News Item! FEAR-List Bulletin posted by Leon Felkins, 3/6/98

Forfeiture of Vehicles By Impounding, FEAR-List Bulletin posted by Leon Felkins, 3/5/98

Something Pennsylvanians can do about forfeiture, posted to FEAR-List by Roy Timpe, 2-26-98 (contains statistics for forfeitures in Pennsylvania by county)

The tempation to take ill-gotten public loot is just too much, posted to FEAR-List by Leon Felkins, 2-25-98

Tennessee experiments with seizing private automobiles, posted to FEAR-List by Leon Felkins, 2-10-98

More on "Administrative Seizure" of Driver's Licenses, posted to FEAR-List by Leon Felkins, 2-9-98

Police Take Drivers License on the spot for DUI, posted to FEAR-List by Leon Felkins, 2-8-98

Oakland making use of Bennis decision for increased Forfeiture, posted to FEAR-List by Leon Felkins, 2-6-98

Forfeit Your Profits or Else!, by Leon Felkins, "Rant of the Day" for February 2, 1998 (Leon ponders how much forfeiture costs the government.)

"S.F. Cops Accused of Using Seized Guns: Weapons had been ordered destroyed," by Bill Wallace, San Francisco Chronicle, 1-10-98, page A-20, news clipping summary by Brenda Grantland, posted to FEAR-List 1/10/98.

"Tourist Alert: Louisiana Revenuers", by Leon Felkins, 12/3/97, originally published in PissedOff Magazine. (How the State of Louisiana thought they could hijack travelers on Interstate 10, but then it occurred to them that it might hurt tourism). Part II is here. Appendix.

"Adventures in law enforcement," by Vin Suprynowicz, The Libertarian, April 10, 1996 (police thievery from property seized for forfeiture)

"Testimony of Eduardo Gonzalez before the United States Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs -- The Asset Forfeiture Program --- A Case Study of the Bicycle Club Casino" (How the government uses its illegally obtained loot, including the operation of a Casino! It is said that they have also operated a Whore House in Nevada. This is a government document.)

Link to a page about botched raids in the Drug War

The Nicholas Bissell page -- This special page collects all our documents about Nicholas Bissell)

The 1996 Michigan Forfeiture Report, by Tom Flook, Vice President of F.E.A.R.. This is the third year running that Tom has compiled this report, analyzing the forfeiture statistics for Michigan state agencies. Tom obtains the data from Freedom of Information requests and crunches the numbers himself. This page tells how you can do the same kind of audit for your state.

Boston Globe article details misuse of forfeiture revenue, posted by New Jersey FEAR coordinator John Paff, FEAR-List Bulletin 3/21/96

DOJ's Double-Speak Response to Double Jeopardy, F.E.A.R. Chronicles, Vol. 3 No. 2 (March 1996)

New Jersey Forfeiture King Indicted, by Peter Gorman (Somerset N.J. prosecutor Nicholas Bissell Jr. faces 30 counts), F.E.A.R. Chronicles, Vol. 3 No. 2 (March 1996)

California Forfeiture Squads Bemoan "Curtailment" of Civil Asset Forfeiture, F.E.A.R. Chronicles, Vol. 3 No. 2 (March 1996)

Boston Globe article details misuse of forfeiture revenue, posted by New Jersey FEAR coordinator John Paff, FEAR-List Bulletin 3/21/96

Bissell's Accountant Pleads GuiltyFEAR-List Bulletin 4/26/96

"An INS Fable", by New Mexico FEAR coordinator Ralph Binford, FEAR-List Bulletin 3/31/96

Boston Globe article details misuse of forfeiture revenue, posted by New Jersey FEAR coordinator John Paff, FEAR-List Bulletin 3/21/96

Bergen Record (Hackensack, NJ) article shows forfeiture funds squandered on booze, Mr. Peanut and Marilyn Monroe impersonator at state prosecutor conventions, FEAR-List Bulletin 1/12/96

Cops dipping into loot again, by FEAR Board member John Paff, FEAR-List Bulletin 1/7/96

Another New Jersey forfeiture abuse probe, FEAR-List Bulletin, 10/4/95, posted by John Paff

Bissell on Channel 2 in New York, FEAR-List Bulletin, 10/2/95, posted by John Paff

Bissell Indictment Owes Much to Work of John Paff, FEAR-List Bulletin, 9/29/95, posted by Brenda Grantland

Bissell Charges Discussed in Letter from U.S. Attorney's Office, FEAR-List Bulletin, 9/28/95, posted by John Paff

U.S.A.O. Press Release: Somerset county Prosecutor & Wife Charged In 33-Count Federal Indictment, Newark, NJ U.S. Attorney's Office, September 28, 1995, press release re: indictment of Nicholas Bissell

NJ Prosecutor Nicholas Bissell Indicted!, FEAR-List Bulletin, 9/28/95, posted by John Paff

Nicholas Bissell In the News Again, (re: James Giuffre lawsuit), FEAR-List Bulletin, 9/18/95, posted by John Paff

Minnesota police seize $2.1 million in property in 1994, FEAR-List Bulletin, 9/3/95 (news blurb with letter to editor by John Paff)

Prosecutor Suffers Seizure!
F.E.A.R. List Bulletin, 7/8/95 by John Paff, (NJ Prosecutor Nick Bissell may become forfeiture victim himself, thanks to John Paff's relentless pursuit of alleged hanky panky in Bissell's handling of forfeiture funds.)

Forfeiture Quotas/Representative Henry Hyde's forfeiture book, "Forfeiting Our Property Rights" now available FEAR-List Bulletin, 05/05/95, posted by John Paff

San Jose Police Use Forfeiture Funds to Buy High Tech Weapons
F.E.A.R. List Bulletin, 05/05/95, posted by Kathy Bergman

GAO High Risk Series Includes Forfeiture
From Schaffer Library -- originally noted in F.E.A.R. List Bulletin, 05/03/95, posted by Ray Kiddy

New York Times Magazine Features Article About Forfeiture Abuse,
FEAR-List Bulletin, 12/14/94, by Brenda Grantland, Esq.

New Jersey Prosecutor in Hot Water,
F.E.A.R. List Bulletin, 12/04/94, by John Paff

DOJ Seeks Expanded Forfeiture Powers Disguised As "Reform",
by Judy Osburn, F.E.A.R. Chronicles, Vol. 2 No. 2 (July 1994)

Ex-Prosecutor Lightly Disciplined Over Forfeiture Fund Theft
by John Paff, F.E.A.R. Chronicles, Vol. 2 No. 2 (July 1994)

NACDL Analyzes Proposed DOJ Forfeiture Act of 1994
(summary of 22-page NACDL report), F.E.A.R. Chronicles, Vol. 2 No. 2 (July 1994)

President's Drug Law Commission Recommends State Forfeiture "Reforms"
F.E.A.R. Chronicles, Vol. 2 No. 2 (July 1994)

Next Time Better Buy Cough Drops,
by Richard Heffern, F.E.A.R. Chronicles, Vol. 2 No. 2 (July 1994) (U.S. Postal Service opens packages that appear to contain prescription drugs. It's illegal to send prescription drugs through the mail.)

Asset Forfeiture Is "Dysfunctional Policy": Empirical Study Finds Forfeiture Negatively Impacts Police Procedure, Forcing Agencies to Subordinate Justice To Profit,
by Judy Osburn, F.E.A.R. Chronicles, Vol. 2 No. 2 (July 1994) (report on a study conducted by Mitchell Miller and Lance Selva, which won best paper award for 1994 from Academy of Criminal Justice Research Sciences. The study, "Drug Enforcement's Double-Edged Sword: An Assessment of Asset Forfeiture Programs" tells what Mitch Miller found when he went undercover for a year as an informant for the police in order to study how forfeiture affects police behavior. The paper was published in the June 1994 Justice Quarterly.)

Asset Forfeiture Office Report Still Overdue
by Joseph V.A. Partansky, M.B.A., F.E.A.R. Chronicles, Vol. 2 No. 2 (July 1994)

Using the Freedom of Information Act to Document Forfeiture Law Abuses,
by Tom Flook, F.E.A.R. Chronicles, Vol. 2 No. 2 (July 1994)

Police Documents Show Forfeitures In Michigan Resemble Curbside Shakedowns,
FEAR Chronicles Vol. 2 No. 1 (Dec. 1993) by Tom Flook

New GAO Studies Released
FEAR Chronicles Vol. 1 No. 5 (Nov. 1992) by Brenda Grantland, Esq.

House Ways & Means Committe Hears GAO Report of IRS Mismanagement of Seized Assets
FEAR Chronicles Vol. 1 No. 5 (Nov. 1992) by Brenda Grantland, Esq.

Seized Assets Disappear As Prosecutors and Police Profiteer Off Forfeiture Program,
FEAR Chronicles Vol. 1 No. 5 (Nov. 1992) by Brenda Grantland, Esq.

Police Steering Drug Arrests to Seize Property?
FEAR Chronicles Vol. 1 No. 3 (Aug. 1992) by Ross Regnart

EDITORIAL: The Department of "Justice" and Other Legal Fictions
FEAR Chronicles Vol. 1 No. 3 (Aug. 1992) by Brenda Grantland, Esq.

. . . And A Little Help From Our Enemies
FEAR Chronicles Vol. 1 No. 3 (Aug. 1992) by Brenda Grantland, Esq. (Cary Copeland's efforts to undo the impact of Presumed Guilty series, published by Pittsburgh Press, backfires on DoJ)

U.S. General Accounting Office Reports Chronic Problems in Federal Asset Forfeiture Program
FEAR Chronicles Vol. 1 No. 2 (June 1992) by Brenda Grantland, Esq.

EDITORIAL: Selective Enforcement of Overbroad Forfeiture Laws: A Weapon Prone To Abuse, FEAR Chronicles Vol. 1 No. 2 (June 1992) by Brenda Grantland, (Connecticut forfeiture prosecutor Leslie Ohta escapes forfeiture when her son is caught dealing out of her house and car.)