KINGPINS AND THE CONSTITUTION

The target of a new anti-drug initiative now speeding toward final
Congressional approval is a worthy one -- big international drug
traffickers. But as too often happens when Congress collaborates with
the Clinton administration to toughen law enforcement policies, civil
liberties stand to suffer.

The measure, called the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act,
overwhelmingly passed the House just two weeks ago. A House-Senate
conference committee incorporated the measure in the annual
intelligence authorization bill that needs only a final floor vote in
the Senate before going to the president's desk for his signature.

All of this occurred without any public hearings or extended debate to
explore the legislation's implications for due process and other
constitutional values.

Under the measure, the government will be required to compile an
annual list of those it determines to be "significant foreign
narcotics traffickers" under standards the bill does not articulate.
The government would then have authority to freeze their assets in the
United States without any chance for judicial review of the basis of
the designation. Americans who engage in financial dealings with a
person or company on the list could have their assets blocked, again
without the benefit of full judicial review.

The measure makes no exception for those investors or partners who
thought they were dealing with legitimate businesses.

"Is this the America we want?" asked Representative Jerrold Nadler, a
Manhattan Democrat, as he waged a lonely and futile fight against the
bill in the House. "What is the remedy if the bureaucracy gets the
wrong person?" Those pertinent questions were sadly lost in the rush
to crack down on foreign drug lords before Congress adjourns.