St Genevieve, MO, February 9, 2015:Tax resolution attorney Lance Drury, founder of the Law Firm of Lance R. Drury, and best selling author of “Successonomics” posted a new article on the LANCE DRURY LAW website entitled “The Time Has Come to Bring Civil Asset Forfeiture Program to an End.”  Few issues in Washington unite people these days, with one exception: The Civil Asset Forfeiture Program.

Mr Drury writes, “ As more Americans are becoming aware of the controversial and, frankly criminal program that has caused the ruin of small businesses and damaged the lives of thousands of innocent people, Civil asset forfeiture has, according to a recent Washington Post article “become one of the few public policy and social issues that united activists and lawmakers across the political spectrum, some of whom dubbed the system ‘policing for profit.’”

According to Drury, “Attorney General Holder finally barred local and state police from using federal law to make any further seizures without proving that a crime occurred.”

Drury shares that the program began more than 3 decades ago as part of the war on drugs. He highlights statistics from the Post article reporting that, “Since 2008, thousands of local and state police agencies have made more than 55,000 seizures of cash and property worth $3 billion under a civil asset forfeiture program at the Justice Department called Equitable Sharing.”

Sadly, as Drury explains, “Most people are unaware of the program unless they have been innocently or otherwise targeted.” He continues, “As the Post article makes clear, “Civil asset forfeiture is one of the most powerful — and unusual — law enforcement tools. Police do not need evidence of a crime to use it, because it is a civil action against an object, such as currency or a car, rather than a person.”

An instance of the law being misused, as Drury shares, “An example cited in the article is of Mandrel Stuart, who according to the Post “was stopped in 2012 by Fairfax County, Virginia, police, detained without charges, handcuffed and stripped of $17,550 in cash that was to be used for equipment and supplies for his barbecue restaurant in Staunton, Virginia. He eventually hired a lawyer, and a jury gave him his money back in 2013. But he lost his restaurant while fighting the government, because he had no working capital.”

Drury goes on to say, “With so many innocent people, many who have been people of color and immigrants being targeted as a result of this program, it is clearly time for change.” He continues, “This random act of illegal search and seizure, while started with good intentions, has turned the IRS, local and federal police into criminals all in the “name of justice.” There simply is no justification for stealing from innocent people.  And while the end has come, it clearly has not come a moment too soon.

The entire article can be found at http://www.lancedrurylaw.com/time-come-bring-civil-asset-forfeiture-program-end/

About  Lance Drury

Tax Attorney Lance Drury, founder of the Law Firm of Lance R. Drury, has been practicing law since 1984 and began representing individuals and businesses in disputes with the Internal Revenue Service in 2006.  With offices located in Ste. Genevieve and Columbia, Missouri, Drury has positioned himself as a leading attorney in the state for IRS tax resolution issues.  He is able to evaluate the unique situation of clients and provide them with honest answers and a specific plan to best resolve their tax problems

About The Lance Drury Law Firm

Since 2006, the Law Firm of Lance R. Drury has been representing individuals and businesses in disputes with the Internal Revenue Service and State of Missouri Tax Commission. With offices located in Ste. Genevieve and Columbia, Missouri, we’re proud to be your local choice for Missouri tax services.

###