PLAN TO FUND LEGAL AID FROM SEIZED PROPERTY LIKELY NOT GOING FAR

Police and Charities Who Now Benefit From the Sale of Assets or Cash
Grabbed From Crooks Are Not About to Give Up That Windfall Without a Fight

Money from the sale of seized assets or cash grabbed from crooks
should be used to help fund legal aid, the B.C. Law Society has suggested.

Gavin Hume, new president of the professional regulatory body, wants
the government to earmark for legal aid the seizures and settlements
under the Civil Forfeiture Act, the Class Proceedings Act and the
Unclaimed Property Act.

The proposal originated with the watchdog's Access to Legal Services
Advisory Committee, which urged the society to meet with Victoria
about the plan.

Attorney-General Barry Penner reacted positively, "I'm all ears," but
I'm dubious that his Liberal colleagues will embrace this idea.

Especially once they get a blast from Solicitor-General Rich Coleman
and the police lobby, and hear the howl that will go up from already
cashstrapped charities -who now benefit from those laws.

The asset-seizure money gets plowed back into law enforcement,
compensates victims or finances remediation projects. Coleman's
ministry was crowing only a few weeks ago:

"The property forfeited -18 properties, six vehicles and 56 cash
seizures -had a total value of $5.3 million. Police referred 105 new
files for which the CFO [Civil Forfeiture Office] has initiated
proceedings. The value of assets now pending resolution of active
forfeiture actions is $82.6 million."

Vancouver Police Chief Jim Chu and his counterparts in other
municipalities are huge fans.

Since the asset-seizure law's inception in 2006, the cops have
expected to reap the benefit of their hard work and they won't watch
mutely while lawyers pick their pockets to support their clients.

Similarly, the BC Unclaimed Property Society holds funds from dormant
bank accounts and actively searches for rightful owners of unclaimed
property each year and then donates a percentage of the funds and
earnings to the Vancouver Foundation.

I can't imagine the charities will give up that cash without a fight
either.

More than that, though, it seems to me the Liberals are not interested
in moving on this issue.

The lawyers couldn't get the administration to funnel money from the
lucrative legal services tax into the Legal Services Society -which
would have appeased some of the anger in the profession over the hated
levy and won some friends -so why would the government do this?

Since they arrived in office two terms ago, the Liberals have savaged
support for legal aid in spite of the illeffects that have been well
documented.

The annual government stipend for legal aid is well below what it was
a decade ago and, during the last year, the society was forced to lay
off numerous staff and close offices.

Financed by the major stakeholders, Vancouver lawyer Len Doust
travelled across the province last fall as a self-styled commission
into the state of legal aid.

His report is due soon but his findings seem a foregone conclusion
- -the legal safety net is virtually non-existent and many, many people
are suffering as a result.

As well, the elimination of services for the needy has led to an
increase in unrepresented litigants and defendants who gum up the
wheels of justice and increase costs across the legal system.

With Ottawa's strident mandatory-minimumsand-tougher-jail-sentences
approach, the situation is going to worsen.

Nevertheless, the province is facing a massive deficit and there is no
unattached money floating around.

Legal aid does not rank high as a Liberal priority.

Take away from police, victims and charities to give to lawyers on
behalf of the poor, the indigent and incorrigible petty criminals?

Is that a real question?