FORFEITURE REFORM -- FEDERAL LEGISLATION IS FINALLY APPROVED

This week, Congress finally passed a measure that would drastically curb
the federal government's ability to seize money and property that it
confiscated during arrests. President Clinton has said that he would sign
the legislation.

The measure is long overdue. In the name of fighting terrorism and the
traffic in illegal drugs, Congress more than two decades ago gave
government agencies the power to seize millions of dollars' worth of money
and property. But the laws turn the Constitution upside down. Federal law
enforcement agencies can confiscate whatever they like as long as they show
probable cause. The owners must prove the property or money wasn't used
illegally -- instead of the authorities having to prove that it was.

The Justice Department and federal law enforcement agencies have fought
changes in the law, saying that the reforms would make it easier for drug
kingpins to hide their ill-gotten assets and to keep their businesses going
while they await trial.

That may be true, but a lot of innocent people have been harmed by the law
as well. In one well-publicized case last year, federal prosecutors seized
a Houston motel. The U.S. attorney did not charge the owners with any
crime, but seized the motel because they allegedly abetted drug activity by
failing to implement police security recommendations, including raising
room rates.

The current confiscation laws have prompted special interest groups and
politicians who are usually at loggerheads to agree on something. Calls for
reform have been sounded from the National Rifle Association and the
American Civil Liberties Union, and from both conservation and liberal
lawmakers.

It's time for reform at both the state and federal level on confiscation laws.