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12/14/2015 Asset forfeiture reform drawing support across political lines Norman Transcript: Government
http://www.normantranscript.com/news/government/assetforfeiturereformdrawingsupportacrosspoliticallines/article_d6374a6801eb550e8d6b38b... 1/5
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Asset forfeiture reform drawing support acrosspolitical lines
Asset forfeiture reform drawing support across political lines
Posted: Sunday, December 13, 2015 9:05 pm
By Mack Burke
efore Norman City Council Member Stephen Tyler Holman wascharged with a felony in connection with a raid on Friendly Market,he was an outspoken critic of civil asset forfeiture. While Holmanfights his highprofile legal battle, Sen. Kyle Loveless (ROklahoma
City) is pushing for changes to civil asset forfeiture laws that have both sidesof the political spectrum showing support.
“It’s true, there are a lot of issues I may not agree with Sen. Loveless on atthe Capitol, but this one seems to be bringing a lot of people together,”Holman said. “Two different think tanks, a conservative think tank and amore liberal think tank, both did independent polling and found that about 70percent of
Oklahomans believe that the law needs to be reformed.”
“I think it gets down to the core beliefs that most Americans have. It shouldn’tbe OK for the police to just seize your property and your assets withoutbreaking the law, without being charged or convicted. It’s just not right.”
Loveless said the current process cuts out checks and balances andsubverts the budgeting process. That’s something he’s hoping to changewith SB 838.
“We have those for a reason,” he said. “I think, if people in Oklahoma knewthat the government could take your property and permanently keep itwithout filing charges, that’s a real problem. And you can see how, since1985 when the federal government started to let localities use the money,that’s when it started exploding. In 2014, for the first time in American history,the government seized and forfeited more property than was actually stolenin criminal activity. So, you can see how that is a big problem.“
Loveless’ reform effort began in May of 2014. He said he noticed that“Oklahoma has some of the poorest asset forfeiture laws in the country.”
“For private property rights in Oklahoma, you think we would be the otherway around,” he said. “So, I started looking into it and sure enough, in thestatutes the government can seize property, a lot of times without chargesbeing brought and the person, if they’re innocent, has to petition thegovernment to get their property back. I just don’t think that’s a fair system …I think the government has to prove that property is tied to a crime beforethey can permanently keep it.”
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Kyle Phillips / The Transcript
Asset forfeiture reform drawingsupport across political linesCatherine Bruce holds a sign in front of the Cleveland CountyCourthouse during Norman City Council member Stephen TylerHolman's arraignment Friday, Dec. 11, 2015.
12/14/2015 Asset forfeiture reform drawing support across political lines Norman Transcript: Government
http://www.normantranscript.com/news/government/assetforfeiturereformdrawingsupportacrosspoliticallines/article_d6374a6801eb550e8d6b38b... 2/5
Loveless said his bill has four main prongs aimed at rectifying what hebelieves to be an unfair system. In its current form, SB 838 would:
1. Place the burden of proof on the state, rather than the individual
2. Streamline the appeals process and add a time limit for holding property
3. Require proof that seized property was involved in a crime
4. Change allocation of forfeited resources
“In Oklahoma, when the government seizes property, they get to keep up to100 percent of it. That’s a problem, because you have government agenciesthat are seizing property and using it for things that they usually would haveto go through the budget process for. I’ll use an example in my district, not inNorman, but you’ll recognize it as similar. The county sheriff in CanadianCounty wanted a militarized vehicle and the county commissioners said ‘No.’Well, six months later he used forfeited money and got it anyway.”
Loveless said that some of those seizures are associated with actualcrimes, but he said the issue at stake is the fairness of the process itself.
“For instance, the precedent setting case in Oklahoma is headquartered rightthere in Norman. Two gentlemen were driving from Kansas City to Texas tobuy a car. They were pulled over in Norman and law enforcement officerssaid ‘Why do you have $18,000 in cash in your back seat?’ They said ‘We’rebuying a car in Texas.’ And the (officers) said ‘We think you smell likemarijuana.’ (The officers) got a dog, and come to find out it wasn’t even adrugsniffing dog. It was the officer’s personal dog. They ended up tellingthem ‘We think that’s criminal money. So, we’re going to keep it.’ Didn’t givethem a ticket. Didn’t charge them with anything …”
Loveless said that after losing their money, the two men spent a year in legalproceedings before ultimately getting their money back.
“The issue is for local business owners as well as people just driving downthe road. The average forfeiture in Oklahoma is $1,200. So, the argumentthat this is countering drug cartels and drug activity doesn’t ring true to me,”Loveless said.” Because when the average forfeiture is $1,200, the averageperson who will have to hire an attorney at $3,000 to $5,000, are they goingto pay that just to get $1,200 back? No. They’re just going to go.”
Holman, a noted progressive and Loveless, a Republican, aren’t the onlyones hoping for changes in the law. Political opponents and agencies withrarely aligning ideologies are united on the issue.
“In my mind, that is a testament to the movement that is coming against civilasset forfeiture. You have the ACLU, NFIB, NAACP, OCPA, groups thatnever work together are coming together and saying ‘This is wrong.’
Loveless said that hasn’t gone unnoticed at the Capitol, but his bill still facessome opposition from law enforcement agencies who he said are motivatedby the current system and rewarded with seized property.
“The Norman Police Department believes that the purposes behind state andfederal seizure laws are laudable,” Assistant City Attorney for the city ofNorman, Rickey J. Knighton said.
Knighton said there is no incentive for police departments to seize assets,but rather that Oklahoma law requires that certain assets be seized.
“Whether such property is used to purchase law enforcement equipment isup to the governing body of the municipality,” he said.
In regard to possible reforms, he said he doesn’t believe changes to the lawwill hurt the department.
“On its face, it does not appear that SB 838 will ‘hurt’ the Norman PoliceDepartment,” he said. “However, SB 838 does not address some importantissues.”
Cleveland County Sheriff Joe Lester said he doesn’t think it will hurt hisdepartment, either. Lester, who has been in law enforcement for fivedecades said he remembers when the Miranda warning was firstestablished.
“When they came out with the Miranda warning, older officers said ‘Lawenforcement will never be the same. We can’t operate.’ But it’s been myexperience that no matter what it is, law enforcement continues to do a goodjob protecting the people they serve.
“As long as I’ve been in law enforcement, they’ve proposed a lot of bills anda lot of them have been someone trying to get their name out in the forefrontfor some other reason,” Lester said. “So, we’ll just see where this one goes
12/14/2015 Asset forfeiture reform drawing support across political lines Norman Transcript: Government
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and what it says when it finally gets to the floor.”
Holman said he hopes his case will shine a light on the issue. In themeantime, he said he has spoken with Loveless about the possibility ofspeaking at the Capitol.
A preliminary court hearing for Holman is set for Jan. 19.
Mack Burke
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"The road to Hell is paved with good intentions." No doubt the overwhelming majority oflaw enforcement officials and personnel are good and honorable people, but even thefinest people are still prone to common human frailties. An unaccountable power toconfiscate property appeals to no one's better angels. Frankly, it's difficult to imagine amore corrupting and corrosive influence on a profession in which ethical conduct andmaintaining public trust are absolutely essential. Requiring "forfeited" assets to go into thegeneral fund, instead of the jurisdictional agency, might curtail the practice to somedegree, but sidesteps the more important constitutional issues.
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Thank you Rep.Loveless for exposing this corrupt and unAmerican practice. The Kansascase you have cited can only be described as literally Highway Robbery. By deciding tomake this obvious civil forfeiture case into a felony, the local DA Greg Mashburn has nowgot himself a hornet's nest and your sensible legislation should have an even strongerchance at correcting this ugly travesty.
And I hope you will consider introducing further legislation which will keep electedpoliticians out of positions of local law enforcement, such as the office of DistrictAttorney.
I #StandWithHolman
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This has to be fixed
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"Asset forfeiture" sounds so much nicer than "legalized theft", doesn't it?
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12/14/2015 Asset forfeiture reform drawing support across political lines Norman Transcript: Government
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