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BUSI 18 Foothill College Education and Teaching Discussion

Post ID: 2343848

Federal Forfeiture Laws and the Right to Legal Counsel

Under the 6th Amendment

Learning Objectives

  • Identify your 6th Amendment rights
  • Learning the state of federal forfeiture laws;
  • Knowing how implementation of the law can lead to differing results;
  • Understanding the role of the public in protecting individual freedoms.

Guidelines

  • Write at least 150 words.
  • The majority of your post must be original words, thoughts and ideas.
  • Identify the source of all information that you use.
  • All posts must be typed in the discussion Canvas message box, not attached as a document.
  • Do not use one paragraph, separate into short paragraphs.
  • Points will be deducted if guidelines are not followed.

Note: See grading rubrics for weekly discussions

Overview on the Law

The Sixth Amendment

The 6th Amendment sets forth citizen's rights relating to criminal prosecution, and the U.S. Supreme Court has applied the protection of this amendment to the states through the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment.

The 6th Amendment establishes a number of rights of the defendant in a criminal trial, including the right to assistance of counsel (see Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)).

To better enable federal enforcement agencies to fight organized crime, drug cartels and terrorist groups, Congress passed various anti­-money laundering and forfeiture laws, including the RICO Act of 1970 and the U.S. Patriot Act of 2001. The idea of the forfeiture laws was to disrupt the criminal activity by confiscating the assets that potentially could have been used to benefit the individual or organization, such as hiring very expensive but very good defense counsel.

While confiscating or freezing the alleged wrongdoer’s assets in the illegal activity has been fairly well established, what about freezing the assets of a defendant who has not been convicted of any crime and can prove the source of funds used for his or her criminal defense came from legal sources that have nothing to do with the alleged illegal activities?

In Luis v. United States, defendant Sila Luis was indicated in Florida on charges of operating a complicated scheme that alleged Medicare fraud of upwards of $40M. The federal prosecutor sought and obtained a pre­trial court order freezing her assets. The court order was unusual in that it not only freezes her “tainted” assets but also her undisputedly legitimate assets, which amounted to “$15M that can not be connected in any way to any alleged criminal activity.” Luis wanted access to these funds to pay for her criminal defense. This case is now before the U.S. Supreme Court.

On another front, police departments around the country have been using federal and state forfeiture laws as a fundraising tool to supplement their department budgets; similar to how cities have been using the issuance of traffic ticket as a revenue generator for the city coffers.

Police target out­ of ­state drivers for traffic stops to inspect their vehicles for contraband. In the process, the police will confiscate cash in the possession of the car occupants. If the owner of the cash wants their money back, they will have to hire an attorney to fight the case in local court where the money was taken.

Should the government be allowed to freeze all your assets once you have been accused (but not convict) of a crime to prevent you from hiring counsel of your choice to mount a rigorous legal defense? Who gets to decide? Should the police be allowed to stop cars from out of the area looking for contraband and confiscate any cash they find. Why or why not? Who gets to decide whether the forfeiture is valid? How is this any different from the highway robbers in the Wild West? Explain.

"Search and Seizure" is a legal term used to describe a law enforcement agent's search or examination of a person's home, vehicle, vehicle or place of business to find evidence that a crime has been committed, and to seize any evidence of the crime found.

The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides that "the right of the people are to secure in their persons, house, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

The ultimate goal of this provision is to protect people's right to privacy and freedom from unreasonable intrusions by the government. The law does not prohibit all searches and seizures, only those by the government that is deemed to be unreasonable under the law. What this means is that law enforcement agents need "probable cause" and a "warrant", in most cases, to search your person or belongings. If there is no probable cause and you are searched illegally, then any evidence collected from the search will be excluded from evidence at trial under the Exclusionary Rule and the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine. The purpose is to protect the people from being abused by a powerful government or by powerful people in government who abuse their powers.

There are strict rules that government agents (e.g., the police) must follow to search you and to seize evidence of a crime. The right to privacy is not specifically mentioned in the U.S. Constitution, but over the years the courts have interpreted the 4th Amendment to protect privacy in many situations. Application of the 4th Amendment is balancing the rights of the individual against the needs of the society.

One of the challenges for poor people is that they often cannot afford to bank accounts or other financial services. Either the requirements for a bank account are too high (e.g., minimum balances), there is no bank branch in their neighborhood, or some other restrictions that make opening a bank account impractical for them.

Assignment

Please read or watch the following:

Discussion Assignment

After reading the articles, discuss what do you think about government agencies using its powers under the law to search and seize properties of private citizens. Is this a good thing or a bad thing. Where should we draw the line? What about the rights of the poor who are unable to hire lawyers to get their property back. Explain.

Marriage is a Contract

What Does Love Have to Do With It?

Learning Objectives

  • Knowing what is a contract
  • Understanding marriage is a contract
  • Evaluating marriage's role in a society
  • Contrasting the value of marriage versus making money.

Guidelines

  • Write at least 150 words.
  • The majority of your post must be original words, thoughts and ideas.
  • Identify the source of all information that you use.
  • All posts must be typed in the discussion Canvas message box, not attached as a document.
  • Do not use one paragraph, separate into short paragraphs.
  • Points will be deducted if guidelines are not followed.

Note: See grading rubrics for weekly discussions

Overview

Marriage is a contract between two people who have agreed to join together into an economic unit by living together, pooling their resources and their efforts towards a common objective, such as raising a family. The concept of marriage has existed in all cultures throughout history. Marriage is a special type of partnership with special benefits. :-)

Each party comes into the marriage relationship whole, separate and autonomous. Neither party loses who they are as a human being when they get married. When Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie became a couple, the Hollywood media called them "Brangelina" as though the two of them had merged into a single entity. When they were together, married or living together, they remained two separate and autonomous individuals who had their own lives, separate careers and responsibilities. They just happened to be living together, sharing their lives with one another. Brad and Angelina remained whole and autonomous even after their divorce.

Many societies tend to view the roles of the male/husband/father/son as more important than female/wife/mother/daughter. This is simply not true. The male and female roles are equally important to the function and preservation of the human race. Father may bring home the bacon, but it is mother who anchors the family unit. Mother gives birth to the children and generally has primary responsibility for raising the children and maintaining the home. What good is bringing home the bacon if there is no home to bring it to. Is making money more important than the continuation of the human race?

Did you know that a “prenuptial agreement” is a contract for divorce? A prenuptial agreement sets the terms and conditions for the separation of the parties' assets in the event they desire to terminate their marriage contract. Couples generally enter into a prenup when one partner has more assets that s/he wants to protect in the event of a divorce.

Marriage is supposed to be forever, but what happens when the couple decide things are not working and want out? An example of this would be what happened to former Sir Paul McCartney and his marriage to Heather Mills when their marriage ended acrimoniously. He wanted it to last forever, but forever is a long time and it really doesn't exist.

What are the expectations and preconceived ideas of what is marriage that each person brings to the marriage? What are the expectations of each party? What are they willing to exchange to have their expectations fulfilled?

The prenup only addresses the assets that each party brings into the marriage and the use of these assets during the marriage. When the couple gets divorce, the assets that are acquired during the marriage are divided between the parties.

Reading Assignment

Discussion Assignment

After reading the assigned articles, what are your thoughts on the divorce settlements. Do you believe the spouse got too much, too little, or just the right amount in their divorce settlement. Explain why or why not. If you use any external research, please provide the source that you referred to or cited.