Hightower Lowdown

Did you ever think you'd see Bob Barr, the right-wing congressman from Georgia, shake hands with solidly liberal lawmaker Barney Frank of Massachusetts? Or see hidebound Republican Henry Hyde lock arms with hardcore Democrat John Conyers?

It happened when all four of these members of the House Judiciary Committee teamed up to pass a bill stopping law enforcement agencies from stomping on our Fourth Amendment right of protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. At issue is a drug law that allows assorted police forces to grab your private property—your house, your bank account, your entire Englebert Humperdink record collection, and anything else—if they suspect that these items might have been involved in criminal activity.

All that the agents need is "probable cause," which includes finger pointing by "confidential informants." Even if you're innocent (and 80% of these seizures result in no criminal charge against the person whose property is seized), they get to keep your stuff. The only way you can get it back is to put up a bond worth 10% of what they took, hire a lawyer, sue them, then prove your innocence in court.

The House overwhelmingly voted to stop these outrageous seizures, and now it goes to the Senate. The Clinton Administration supports letting the police state continue grabbing innocent people's property. To learn more, call the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers at 202-872-8600.