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Forfeiture
Endangers American Rights Foundation
is a 501(c)(3)
charitable organization. Donations are tax deductible.
20 Sunnyside Suite A-419, Mill Valley, CA 94941
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Victim support
Victim Support Materials:
- Victim Self-Help Materials - This
page has several links that may help you if you are subject to a
property seizure or have other problems with "the authorities."
- "What To Do When Your Property Has
Been Seized By Police" This two page FEAR pamphlet
is easy to understand and up to date. Please print out a
hard copy of the PDF
version and give it to other people who need this
information.)
- New Ebook: What to
Do When Police Seize Your Property (only $5.99)
by Brenda Grantland and Judy Osburn, explains in detail the
federal forfeiture process – civil and criminal. It tells how to
qualify for a court-appointed attorney, and what to do if you
are forced to represent yourself. The book is outlined in a
simple question and answer format, with citations to statutes
and cases, including links to FEAR's law library and other free
internet resources for legal research. It includes a link to a
step-by-step video which explains how to prepare a Claim and
Answer.
Table
of Contents:
The police took my property. What do I have to do to get it
back?
What is asset forfeiture?
If I am found not guilty in my criminal case or they drop the
charges, won't I get my property back automatically?
What do I do if they say they intend to pursue forfeiture?
Will I need a state or a federal lawyer?
What do I do if I can't afford to hire a lawyer?
What if I don't qualify for court-appointed counsel and can't
find an attorney I can afford?
How long does it take and what can I do to speed up the process?
What do I do once I receive notice of forfeiture from the DEA or
another federal agency?
What do I do once I am served with a federal civil forfeiture
complaint?
What is criminal forfeiture and how does it differ from civil
forfeiture?
What are the defenses to forfeiture?
Can I get my property back pending trial?
Should I keep up my mortgage payments and insurance?
How can these procedures be constitutional?
About the authors
Appendix -- Selected federal forfeiture statutes
- Federal forfeiture
statutes
- FEAR's Asset Forfeiture Defense Manual ($119 plus shipping &
handling) is written for pro se forfeiture victims as well as
defense lawyers. It's available for purchase on this
website.
- FEAR's
Brief
Bank contains over 200 sample motions, forms, briefs,
discovery requests, etc. which you can use as samples to write
your own pleadings, if necessary. A subscription costs $100 per year.
- Asset
Forfeiture Law in the United States [Hardcover], by Stefan
D. Cassella, 2006, $397 at Amazon.com. Though oriented for
prosecutors rather than defense attorneys, this comprehensive
volume is written by one of the federal government's leading
forfeiture prosecutors. Also available from Amazon.com is Mr.
Cassella's Asset
Forfeiture Law in the United States Cumulative Supplement
[Paperback], 2010 for $75, a cumulative supplement to the
JurisNet title, Asset
Forfeiture Law in the United States. Juris Publishing
offers a much better price for the updated Asset
Forfeiture Law in the United States (Includes Cumulative
Supplement) in hardcover
with CD and pdf formats for $165.
How
can I find a lawyer experienced in forfeiture law?
The FEAR Attorney Directory is
one way to comparison shop for forfeiture lawyers.
Unfortunately, we don't have very many attorneys listed here yet,
but we're working on it. Please tell your forfeiture lawyer to apply for our attorney directory.
Where can I turn if I
can't afford to hire an attorney? In federal cases,
CAFRA authorizes the appointment of counsel for indigent civil
forfeiture victims under certain circumstances. See our Application for
Appointment of Counsel page for details on how to ask for
court appointed counsel. For those of you who really need legal
help but don't quite have the necessary funds, see our page Resources for Legal Help to the
Indigent.
The "Civil Forfeiture
Research Pathfinder" contains some good stuff on how to
research forfeiture statutes, legislation, cases, articles, etc.
as well as some specific reference material that the author found
doing this research.