It's here!

Announcing the release of the first in a series of  FEAR's clear, concise and informative DVD courses on substantive forfeiture law and procedure:

FORFEITURE 101

FEAR's Forfeiture 101
Topics include:
  • Facilitiation
  • Used or intended for use...
  • Proceeds
  • Involved in money laundering
  • Substitute assets
  • Personal money judgment

  • CAFRA's innocent owner defense
  • "Ownership" for purposes of innocent owner defense
  • Straw owners
  • Claimants whose names are not on title
  • Eighth Amendment proportionality defense
  • Undue delay defense
  • Statute of limitations defense
  • Illegal search and seizure

  • Differences between civil and criminal forfeiture
  • Civil forfeiture
  • Notice
  • Administrative vs. judicial process
  • Administrative forfeiture notice
  • Administrative claim
  • Civil forfeiture complaint
  • Verified statement of interest
  • Answer
  • Standing

  • CAFRA vs. Customs procedures
  • Customs carveout

  • Criminal forfeiture
  • Indictment forfeiture allegations
  • Criminal forfeiture procedures
  • Bifurcated trial - guilt phase and forfeiture phase
  • Personal money judgment
  • Joint & several liability
  • Third party remedies
  • Substitute assets
FEAR's forfeiture experts clearly explain everything you need to take the fear out of litigating your first forfeiture case in Forfeiture 101. 


This DVD will guide you through forfeiture procedures beginning with filing a claim, answer and demand for jury trial, while avoiding pitfalls built into the maze of proceedings based upon arcane admiralty law compli- cated by CAFRA reforms that apply to some forfeiture proceedings and not to others.

Forfeiture 101 also provides a guided tour through FEAR's free online legal resources, as well as how to make the most of your subscription to FEAR's Brief Bank.


Forfeiture 101 is a publication of FEAR Foundation's Gideon Project – to increase the availability of qualified forfeiture counsel and thereby:
  • save the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act’s right to counsel provisions;
  • provide a more equal playing field for victims of overreaching forfeiture actions;
  • and avoid malpractice by well meaning lawyers who unknowningly cause irreparable damage to their clients' cases.
The federal government spends vast sums of money prosecuting forfeiture cases.1 Its prosecuting forfeiture attorneys are well trained, yet the forfeiture victim is often forced to defend his case without a lawyer.

One of the key provisions of the federal Civil Asset Forfeiture Act of 2000 (CAFRA),2 for which FEAR lobbied for eight years, requires courts to appoint counsel to represent owners of seized homes who cannot afford a lawyer, upon request of the forfeiture victim.3 

But what happens if no one at the court tells the victim about his rights under this statute?

Judges don’t always know they can (or in some cases must) appoint counsel to defend owners of seized property. Even when they do, there is a shortage of experienced forfeiture attorneys willing to accept the court appointments.

Can you imagine trying to defend against summary judgment pro se, when the well trained federal prosecutor argues such things as collateral estoppel, the relation back doctrine, standing, or that the forfeiture is remedial and therefore the Excessive Fines clause does not apply?

As United States Attorneys continue their ever-expanding over-reach in seizing assets,4 more and more people face complex proceedings in order to defend their seized property.



The right to counsel that is so essential to our system of justice is worthless as long as practicing attorneys remain ignorant of complex idiosyncracies of proceedings based upon arcane admiralty law compli- cated by CAFRA reforms that apply to some forfeiture proceedings and not to others.




Forfeiture
Endangers
American
Rights
Foundation
www.fear.org

20 Sunnyside Suite A419
Mill Valley, CA 94941
Phone: 415.389.8551
or toll-free: 888.FEAR.001
FEAR's Forfeiture 101 DVD enables defense attorneys to effectively expand their practice to meet the needs of the vastly increasing number of victims of the government's ever-broadening overreach for assets and money judgments.

FEAR's Forfeiture 101 DVD law course

These days many attorneys are looking for ways to expand their areas of practice.  And courts are finally beginning to appoint counsel under the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act of 2000 (CAFRA)'s right to counsel provisions.

However, lawyers taking on their first forfeiture case suddenly find that law school never prepared them for the maze of complex proceedings that strictly adhere to Supplemental Rules for Admiralty or Maritime Claims and Asset Forfeiture Actions, further complicated by CAFRA reforms that apply to some forfeiture proceedings and not to others.

The government continues to expand its applications of an ever increasing number of criminal and civil forfeiture laws. More than ever, criminal defendants also need effective representation for their interests in seized property. (Criminal defense attorneys have the same obligation to defend their clients' property during the forfeiture phase of trial as they do in other sentencing issues.)

Additionally, growing numbers of forfeiture victims must defend their property interests from prosecutors who, according to their own reported figures, continue to routinely overreach4 in seeking assets and money judgments.

Clear and practical explanations by FEAR's forfeiture experts, along with informative charts and guides to navigating FEAR's online forfeiture defense tools, also provide invaluable help to pro se forfeiture litigants whose cases slip through the cracks of CAFRA's right to counsel provisions. 

Forfeiture 101 back cover
FEAR's Forfeiture 101 back cover

Order by July 4 to take advantage of

FEAR's SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY OFFERS:

Option #1:
Purchase FEAR's Forfeiture 101 DVD right now for only $100
(plus $8 S&H):
This special pricing offer expires July 5, 2009.
Shipments to California will be charged sales tax.
OR Option #2:
Combine shipping charges by ordering FEAR's Asset Forfeiture Defense Manual ($119) and FEAR's Forfeiture 101 DVD ($100) for a total of only $219.00 (plus $12 S&H)
Shipments to California will be charged sales tax.
OR save even more with Option #3:
Take advantage of our introductory forfeiture package deal--for a total of $300 (plus $12 S&H) you get:

500-page Asset Forfeiture Defense Manual, Forfeiture 101 DVD, plus a one-year subscription to FEAR's Brief Bank, all for only $300 (plus $12 S& H) 		Step 1:
Add to your cart a one-year subscription or renewal to
FEAR's Brief Bank for $100 
(or $0 if you tell us about your current subscription):
Add 1-yr. subscription or verify current subscription:


Step 2:
Click "continue shopping" on PayPal's FEAR Foundation shopping cart page to return to this page.


Step 3:
Add the book/DVD combination (FEAR's Asset Forfeiture Defense Manual and FEAR's Forfeiture 101 DVD) to your cart for $200 plus $12 S&H:
This offer is subject to verification of Step 1, above.
Shipments of books and DVDs to California will be charged sales tax. (No tax on Brief Bank subscriptions.)

Gideon Project logo
Notes:

1.  In Fiscal Year 2007 United States Attorneys filed asset forfeiture counts in 5,131 criminal cases, and filed 2,105 civil asset forfeiture actions, obtaining a total appraised value of $1,323,035,714 in civil and criminal forfeiture judgments. These figures do not include assets forfeited through federal administrative procedures (in which owners lost property without any litigation). United States Attorneys' Annual Statistical Report: Fiscal Year 2007, http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/reading_room/reports/asr2007/07statrpt.pdf

2.  Congress responded to numerous horror stories of abusive civil forfeiture actions across the nation by enacting our nation’s first and only federal forfeiture reform, the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act of 2000 (CAFRA). One of CAFRA’s key provisions requires courts to appoint counsel to represent owners of seized homes who cannot afford a lawyer–upon request of the forfeiture victim. Also upon request, CAFRA allows appointment of counsel in civil forfeiture cases where the claimant has appointed counsel in a related criminal case.

3.  CAFRA does not give judges any discretion to deny the right to counsel when residences are seized. The claimant doesn't even have to meet regular standards for indigence – the statute says counsel shall be appointed if the claimant is “financially unable to obtain representation by counsel.”  But in most courtrooms today nobody knows to tell the judge of this provision. Now, more than eight years after CAFRA's right to counsel provision took effect, we at last have a functioning process for appointing counsel to represent indigent homeowners. This and everything you need to avoid the pitfalls and take the fear out of litigating your first forfeiture case is clearly explained in FEAR's Forfeiture 101.

4. While the federal government obtained 92% of the criminal convictions it sought in Fiscal Year 2007, U.S. Attorneys vastly overreached for assets and money judgments – litigating over $3.8 billion in assets – nearly three times the $1.3 billion value of civil and criminal forfeiture judgments obtained. (United States Attorneys' Annual Statistical Report: Fiscal Year 2007.) During fiscal years 2005 and 2006, U.S. Attorneys obtained a 91% conviction rate, but pursued litigation of assets valued over four times the value of forfeiture judgments obtained. (United States Attorneys' Annual Statistical Report: Fiscal Year 2005; United States Attorneys' Annual Statistical Report: Fiscal Year 2006.)
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/reading_room/reports/asr2007/07statrpt.pdfhttp://www.usdoj.gov/usao/reading_room/reports/asr2005/05statrpt.pdf
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/reading_room/reports/asr2006/06statrpt.pdf