865.454.3449 info@foralltn.org

      Our Criminal Justice System is Broken

      here are two actions we can take now
      "

      End Civil forfeiture

      the legal process by which law enforcement can seize your property without ever charging you with a crime

      Civil Forfeiture Cases

      cash seized

      vehicles seized

      Average Size of Forfeiture (2017)

      Civil Forfeiture Cases

      cash seized

      vehicles seized

      Average Size of Forfeiture (2017)

      What’s Broken

      Civil forfeiture violates the basic American principle of innocent until proven guilty.

      Criminal forfeiture is the process by which law enforcement can seize a criminal’s property after convicting them of a crime. This is a completely appropriate practice that keeps people from being able to profit off of criminal activity.

      Civil forfeiture, on the other hand, is the process by which law enforcement can seize property without ever convicting or even charging you with a crime. They do this by claiming the property could be used in the commission of a crime, with no attempt to convict the individual who possesses the property. This is often used to seize sums of cash, vehicles, or even houses. 

      A perfect example of this: the Sevier County woman who found herself guilty of a traffic violation while in possession of the proceeds of her mother’s estate ($12,000) and a bag of antacids. She was accused of a DUI due to the crushed antacids police assumed were drugs. Despite being innocent of any wrongdoing to justify the forfeiture (even after the truth of her claims was conceded by law enforcement) she was still forced to file suit against the State of Tennessee in order to get her property returned.

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      presumption of guilt

      In every other element of law, Americans are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Civil forfeiture violates this process by allowing law enforcement to seize your assets and force you to prove your innocence in order to regain your property.

       

       

      Perverse incentive

      Money from civil forfeiture goes into law enforcement budgets, not a neutral fund. The combination of tremendous financial incentives and limited protections for property owners creates a situation ripe for abuse.

      expensive to appeal

      According to Tennessee law, you have to pay a bond of $350 just to start the process of appeals for civil forfeiture cases. This can be a huge burden for many people wrongly affected.

      What’s Broken

      Civil forfeiture violates the basic American principle of innocent until proven guilty.

      Criminal forfeiture is the process by which law enforcement can seize a criminal’s property after convicting them of a crime. This is a completely appropriate practice that keeps people from being able to profit off of criminal activity.

      Civil forfeiture, on the other hand, is the process by which law enforcement can seize property without ever convicting or even charging you with a crime. They do this by claiming the property could be used in the commission of a crime, with no attempt to convict the individual who possesses the property. This is often used to seize sums of cash, vehicles, or even houses. 

      A perfect example of this: the Sevier County woman who found herself guilty of a traffic violation while in possession of the proceeds of her mother’s estate ($12,000) and a bag of antacids. She was accused of a DUI due the crushed antacids the police assumed were drugs. Despite being innocent of any wrongdoing to justify the forfeiture and even after the truth of her claims was conceded by law enforcement, she was still forced to file suit against the State of Tennessee in order to get her property returned.

      w

      presumption of guilt

      In every other element of law, Americans are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Civil forfeiture violates this process by allowing law enforcement to seize your assets and force you to prove your innocence in order to regain your property.

       

       

      Perverse incentive

      Money from civil forfeiture goes into law enforcement budgets, not a neutral fund. The combination of tremendous financial incentives and limited protections for property owners creates a situation ripe for abuse.

      expensive to appeal

      According to Tennessee law, you have to pay a bond of $350 just to start the process of appeals for civil forfeiture cases. This can be a huge burden for many people wrongly affected.

      How we fix it

      require a criminal conviction

      With very few exceptions, the law should require a criminal conviction before a Tennessean’s property is seized. This means that law enforcement must arrest and charge someone with a crime before property can be seized.

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      end equitable sharing

      “Equitable Sharing” allows TN law enforcement to run seized property to the Feds. The Federal Government takes a cut and send the remainder back to the state. This means LEOs have the ability to circumvent civil forfeiture legislation passed by our representatives until the loophole is addressed.

      eliminate caf bonds

      At the minimum, there should be no cost to appeal a civil forfeiture seizure. Tennesseans have a right to due process and should not have to pay to have a court review their case.

       

      inform Juries

      jurors have a right to ACQUIT IF THEY FEEL APPLYING THE LAW WOULD RESULT IN AN UNJUST OUTCOME; OUR legal system works to keep this A SECRET

      Felonies the Average Tennessean Commits a Day

      %

      Cases Ending in Plea Bargains

      annual spend on Incarceration

      What’s Broken

      Jurors have a responsibility to see that justice is carried out, in spite of whether or not that action fully enforces the law.

      But in prosecutions for the publication of papers investigating the official conduct of officers, or men in public capacity, the truth thereof may be given in evidence; and in all indictments for libel, the jury shall have a right to determine the law and the facts, under the direction of the court, as in other criminal cases.

      Article 1 Section 19

      Tennessee State Constitution

      The Magna Carta enshrined jury trials as a way to prevent the king from acting against his subjects or their property without accountability to those he ruled. The result was a jury empowered with the ability to make whatever decision they feel prevents injustice, whether or not the law is enforced. One famous example of conscientious acquittal is when northern jurors would refuse to convict escaped slaves and return them to their masters under the Fugitive Slave Act. 

      The power we hold to influence our government as jurors has diminished greatly over the course of time. Through plea bargains, disqualifying jurors who know their rights, and other omissive or invasive acts by the government, the jurors responsibility to “prevent injustice”  has been intentionally stifled and nearly forgotten.

      The first step to fixing this problem is allowing jurors to understand their power and their responsibility to see that injustice does not happen.

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      Uninformed JURORS

      Most jurors are unaware of the fact that the law protects their ability to make the decision they think is right. According to the law, the jury is the final arbiter. As jurors, their job is to apply the law in a way consistent with preventing injustice.

       

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      it's intentional

      You can be disqualified from serving on a jury for simply knowing your rights as a juror. Judges are not required to inform you. People cannot stand outside of a courthouse and make people aware of their true role. Keeping conscientious acquittal in the dark is one of many major factors that have created a legal system where roughly 97% of cases are settled through plea bargains.

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      Removes our input

      The founders understood that juries who judged the “law and the facts” gave important input to the legislators about which laws people would and would not tolerate. Without this feedback our legislators priorities are more easily influenced by groups seeking special privilege.

      how we fix it

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      Requirement to Inform

      At the request of a defense attorney, Tennessee should require a judge to fully inform the jury of their rights to conscientious acquittal.

      Juror Education

      In general, more people need to understand the benefits and tactics that drive the conscientious acquittal process, so that they can continue to leverage the practice before any reform happens.

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      Restore Originalist Intent

      An informed jury should serve as a barometer to the legislature by showing lawmakers which laws the public feels can be enforced justly.

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