Boston University Pre-Law Review Volume I Issue XXX, Fall 2017 The Boston University Pre-Law Review Volume I Issue XXX , Fall 2017 Executive Board President: Claire Park CAS ‘18 Vice President Shanti Khanna CAS ’17 Treasurer: Amie Sun CAS ‘20 Secretary: Shannon Larson COM ‘20 Editorial Staff Editor-in-Chief: Claire Park Copy Editors: Luciano Cesta Douglas Darrah Jennifer Gonzales Andrew Gordon Noe Hinck Andrew Kelbley Ashley Nunez Sonali Paul Yvette Pollack Sofia Zocca Senior Layout Editor: Rachel Duncan Shaun Robinson Faculty Advisors Dean Edward Stern Assistant Dean, Pre-Professional Advising (Law) Rita Callahan Ralston Pre-Law Academic Advisor Table of Contents 1. Is it Time for A Fused Legal Profession in England? Aleksandra Boots 1. Civil Forfeiture 1. Ali Is Areiqat it Time for A Fused Legal Profession in 2.England? Female Genital Aleksandra Mutilation Boots and State Laws Martine Bjoernstad 1. Is it Time for A Fused Legal Profession in 3. License to Uber? England? Aleksandra Boots Dylan Brousseau-Vora 4.1. The Is it Political Time for Nature A Fused of Legalthe Presidential Profession Pardon in and its Ideological Path England?Luciano Cesta Aleksandra Boots 5. Racial, Gender, and Socioeconomic Diversity in Juries 1. Douglas Is it Time Darrah for A Fused Legal Profession in 6.England? An Assessment Aleksandra of theBoots Hernandez Lawsuits Olivia Ferris 7.1. Sex-Education Is it Time for A Reform Fused Legalin the ProfessionModern United in States England? Rebecca GausepohlAleksandra Boots 8. How Schizophrenia Affects Competency During Capital Punishment Sentencing 1. Anna Is it CarinTime Irvingfor A Fused Legal Profession in 9.England? Death Penalty Aleksandra in Singapore Boots and the United States Neha Doraiswamy Iyer 10.1. IsThe it TimeControversy for A Fused Surrounding Legal Profession Collective in Bargaining England? Andrew Kelbley Aleksandra Boots 11. Can the President Pardon Himself? 1. Benjamin Is it Time Levy for A Fused Legal Profession in 12.England? Injustice Aleksandra Behind Bars Boots Wenyin Lu 1. Is it Time for A Fused Legal Profession in 13. Mass Incarceration England? Aleksandra Boots Ashley Nunez 14. Sex Offenders and the Right to Social Media 1. Is it Time for A Fused Legal Profession in Yvette Pollack England? Aleksandra Boots 15. Trump and the Fate of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals 1. Nicole Is it Time Ricker for A Fused Legal Profession in 16.England? CRISPR: Aleksandra Editing RevolutionizedBoots Chelsea Rollins 17.1. IsThe it TimeFate offor Transgender A Fused Legal Soldiers Profession in the in United States Army England? Jeyleani M. Aleksandra Sanchez Boots 18. The Future of Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform: Dismantling the Volcker Rule 1. Benjamin Is it Time Smith for A Fused Legal Profession in 19.England? The Transparency Aleksandra Boots in Music Licensing and Ownership Act Nastassia Velazquez 20.1. Is Reparations it Time for Afor Fused Victims Legal of the Profession War on Marijuanain and Oakland’s Dispensary EquityEngland? Permit Aleksandra Program Boots Sofia Zocca Civil Forfeiture By Ali Areiqat, CAS ‘21 n 6 March 2017, Supreme Court Justice feiture encourages policing for profit.12 When laws make Clarence Thomas issued a statement about civil forfeiture easier and more profitable, law enforcement the Lisa Olivia Leonard v. Texas1 case, in engage in it more.13 Not only that, these forfeiture revenues which the state had used civil forfeiture to take have been misused on multiple occasions. Law enforce- more than $200,000 from a safe in Leonard’s ment officers have used these forfeiture funds on extrava- car. Thomas criticized civil forfeiture saying, “This sys- gant purchases, including a vacation to Hawaii.14 Moreover, tem ... has led to egregious and well-chronicled abuse. in 2014, net assets in the DOJ and Treasury forfeiture O 15 ... I am skeptical that this historical practice is capable funds were $4.5 billion, more than half a billion dollars of sustaining, as a constitutional matter, the contours of greater than the property losses due to burglary offenses.16 modern practice.”2 Civil forfeiture, also known as civil asset This massive discrepancy between legally and illegally forfeiture, is a legal process in which an action is brought obtained money raises questions about the motives of law to court to seize a property suspected of being involved in enforcement with their increasing use of civil forfeiture. criminal activity.3 Thomas’s statement came as a bit of a surprise, because, historically, the Supreme court issued Several steps could be taken to try to resolve the problems rulings that upheld civil forfeiture such as in the 1996 case of civil forfeiture. For example, profit incentives could be Bennis v. Michigan.4 In 2017, the Department of Justice eliminated by returning to the practice of putting civil asset (DOJ) released a report revealing that since 2007, the Drug forfeiture revenue into the general fund or by reducing Enforcement Administration seized about $3.2 billion in the percentage of revenue kept by the seizing agency.17 cash administratively, meaning no civil or criminal charges At the federal level, the Deterring Undue Enforcement by were brought against the owners of the cash and no judicial Protecting Rights Of Citizens from Excessive Searches review of the seizures ever occurred.5 With such a large and Seizures (DUE PROCESS) Act, reintroduced by sum of money involved and a Supreme Court Justice’s Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner in 201718, may be a criticism of it, it would be worthwhile to look at the benefits solution to the issue. The act increases transparency in and drawbacks of civil forfeiture, and what can be done to the civil asset forfeiture process, shifts the burden of proof improve it. from the property owner onto the government by increasing the standard of proof from “preponderance of the evi- To begin, civil forfeiture has many benefits. According to dence” to “clear and convincing” and implements additional a review by the Justice Department, civil forfeiture allows measures to ensure property owners have the opportunity agents to quickly seize suspected criminal proceeds on to contest seizures.19 site without having to seek a warrant and provides state and local law enforcement additional resources to fight 6 Sources crime and cover their expenses. It is seen as an instru- 1. Statement of Thomas, J, Lisa Olivia Leonard v. Texas, 580 U. S. ____ (2017). mental weapon in the ongoing battle against illegal drugs https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/16pdf/16-122_1b7d.pdf 2. Ibid. because its low burden of proof allows police to seize 3. “Types of Federal Forfeiture,” United States Department of Justice, last modified February 1, 7 2017, www.justice.gov/afp/types-federal-forfeiture. property even when they cannot gain criminal convictions. 4. Bennis v. Michigan, 516 US 442 (1996). 5. Christopher Ingraham, “Since 2007, the DEA has taken $3.2 billion in cash from people not Moreover, asset forfeiture can be used to protect and charged with a crime,” The Washington Post, March 29, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost. benefit those harmed by criminal activity. For example, in com/news/wonk/wp/2017/03/29/since-2007-the-dea-has-taken-3-2-billion-in-cash-from-people- not-charged-with-a-crime/?utm_term=.21b5bcd6c931. Rutland, Vermont three properties, which were identified 6. 11. United States Department of Justice, Review of the Department’s Oversight of Cash Seizure and Forfeiture Activities, March 2017, as having been used by some of the city’s major drug https://oig.justice.gov/reports/2017/e1702.pdf. dealers, were seized by federal officials and turned over 7. Jennifer Earl, “Civil asset forfeiture: Fund public defenders instead of the police,” The Hill, February 15, 2017, http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/ to NeighborWorks of Western Vermont, a nonprofit group crime/319632-civil-asset-forfeiture-fund-public-defenders-instead-of-the-police. 8 8. Adam Federman, “Homes in troubled Rutland neighborhood to be seized,” VTDIGGER, devoted to community redevelopment. NeighborWorks will October 2, 2016, https://vtdigger.org/2016/10/02/homes-troubled-rutland-neighborhood-seized/. 9. Ibid. use these properties to revitalize the neighborhood and 10. United States Department of Justice, Review of the Department’s Oversight of Cash Seizure create affordable housing for low-income families.9 Overall, and Forfeiture Activities, March 2017, https://oig.justice.gov/reports/2017/e1702.pdf. as mentioned in the review of the DOJ, civil forfeiture dis- 11. “Types of Federal Forfeiture,” United States Department of Justice, last modified February 1, 2017, www.justice.gov/afp/types-federal-forfeiture. mantles criminal organizations by removing the proceeds 12. Williams, Marian R., Jefferson E. Holcomb, Tomislav V. Kovandzic, and Scott Bullock, 2010, of crime used to perpetuate criminal activity and benefits Policing for Profit The Abuse of Civil Asset Forfeiture, Arlington: Institute for Justice, https:// www.ij.org/images/pdf_folder/other_pubs/assetforfeituretoemail.pdf. 10 people harmed by criminal activities. 13. Ibid. 14. McCormack, Zeke, “Former District Attorney sentenced in Kerrville,” San Antonio Express- News, May 22, 2010, http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Former-District-Attorney-sentenced-in- Civil forfeiture’s greatest drawback is its greatest asset: its Kerrville-793542.php. low burden of proof. Since the property is the defendant’s, 15. Carpenter II, Dick M., Lisa Knepper, Angela C. Erickson, and Jennifer McDonald. 2015, 11 Policing for Profit The Abuse of Civil Asset Forfeiture 2nd Edition, Arlington: Institute for Justice, and no criminal charge against the owner is necessary, http://ij.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/policing-for-profit-2nd-edition.pdf 16. US Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program, “Crimes in the U.S law enforcement does not need to provide proof before 2014: Burglary,” seizing properties. In many cases, this incentivizes seizure https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2014/crime-in-the-u.s.-2014/ offenses-known-to-law-enforcement/burglary.