N.J. ‘Civil Asset Forfeiture’ Bill Passes Legislature; Will Christie Sign?

NEWARK, NJ — A bill that would help to keep track of civil assets and personal belongings seized during law enforcement incidents is on the desk of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, but will he choose to sign it into law?

If Christie gives the go-ahead, it could mean better shakes for people like Jersey City resident Jermaine Mitchell – who was allegedly charged $175 in court fees to get back $171 seized during an April arrest.

• See related article: Cops Seize $171 During Arrest, Court Wants $175 To Get It Back

According to a Monday statement from the Newark-based ACLU of New Jersey:

“Civil forfeiture allows police to take property from people without being convicted of a crime… Police unfairly seize millions of dollars from New Jerseyans each year but nobody knows how much. Why? Nobody's keeping track… New Jersey should end #policingforprofit -- the first step is keeping track of how much police take. A bill on Governor Chris Christie's desk would do just that.”

The bill that the ACLU is referring to, S-2267, unanimously passed the NJ Assembly and Senate on Dec. 19.

If passed, the bill would require each county prosecutor in New Jersey to compile and submit an annual report to the Attorney General with information about each individual seizure and forfeiture of funds or property completed by a law enforcement agency within the county.

County prosecutors would also have to account for the use of forfeited funds and property, including the specific law enforcement purpose for which an expenditure was made using the seized assets.

Prosecutors would be allowed to use forfeiture proceeds to pay for the cost of creating the reports.

Read the full bill’s text here.

The bill is a no-brainer, according to a recent NJ.com editorial.

“Seizing the property of innocent people has become a common practice for law enforcement agencies everywhere, as it pads budgets and fills creature comforts,” NJ.com reported. “The overwhelming support marks this as an urgent criminal justice issue - much like the landslide on bail reform - and this bill shouldn't require much rumination as it reaches Gov. Christie's desk.”

Some county prosecutors have argued that their offices have acted properly in high-profile seizure cases such as Jersey City’s Mitchell.

"Proceeds from any criminal activity are often utilized by defendants to purchase goods which are used to facilitate future crimes," Suarez told a reporter in response to Mitchell’s accusations. "The HCPO will continue to take all lawful action to ensure that crime in our county does not pay and that any proceeds of a crime are removed from the hands of the criminals and used for a lawful public purpose."

• See related article: Feds Seized $89M From Alleged Crooks In FY 2016

CHRISTIE ON CIVIL ASSET FORFEITURE

Gov. Chris Christie spoke about his stance on civil asset forfeiture during a 2015 interview with NJ 101.5.

Christie – speaking from his experience in the U.S. Attorney’s Office – said that the practice is “a very powerful tool” that has to be used extremely carefully.

“Let’s talk about the federal side of things,” Christie said. “When the IRS takes that money, they don’t get to keep it unless they prove in fact that you did do something wrong. That often becomes part of the conversation in a plea agreement on the criminal side or the civil laws as part of a settlement – and we did that many times in the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”

Christie said that he is comfortable with civil asset forfeiture being used as a tool, but added that in the end, it’s a “judgement call.”

“We also know that the way this really came about was a lot of folks using that money in connection with drug dealing and that type of thing, and we’ve got to be very careful to make sure that they don’t profit from that kind of activity,” he opined.

File Photo: DEA.gov

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