A few weeks ago, we briefly touched how the forfeiture of civil resources can apply to Bitcoin, a process in which the government can seize the activities of citizens without accusing a person of a crime. With the United States government that states that the confiscation of civil resources will constitute a key pillar in the construction of its strategic Bitcoin reserve, the fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration Act of 2023, also known as Fair Act, is probably the most important bill introduced today to the congress to protect Bitcoin holders from a large extension of the government. Without it, many could see their seized Bitcoin and renounced on behalf of the reserve with little or no appeal.
It has long been argued that the decline of civil resources needs a drastic reform. Throughout the country, states have become known to abuse the process to enrich their law enforcement agencies, which may appropriate the funds raised. From the police who kidnap a van of Vietnam veteran for having served as a “container” for marijuana or trying to appropriate a man’s life saving for a violation of the safety belt, the decline of civil activities is “one of the most serious abuse of power in today’s country”, according to the institute for justice.
The decline of civil activities is particularly problematic as the process creates a financial incentive for law enforcement agencies to renounce the government of citizens to the government without the right trial, as stated by the ACLU. Especially in light of Bitcoin’s scarcity and its consequent appreciation of value over time, this financial incentive is exacerbated only when the forfeiture of civil activities is applied to build the strategic bitcoin reserve.
To protect citizens from the abuse of forfeiture of civil activities, the Fair Act of 2023, which was reintroduced in 2024 co-sponsored by Senator Lummis, among others, aims to review the federal laws that govern the trial to ensure that the proceedings for the decline of civil activities follow the right process as ruled by the fifth amendment.
Firstly, it does so by increasing the evidentiary standard from the “preponderance” of the tests – which means that the affirmation of a party is rather true that not – to clear and convincing evidence, increasing the burden of proof that the government must provide to enforce a decline.
With the Fair Act, the application of the agencies must establish that there was a substantial connection between the property and the crime, as well as that the owner of any interest for the seized property used the property with the intention of facilitating the crime, or consciously consent or was intentionally blind to the use of property by another in relation to the crime. This constitutes the most important aspect of the act as it applies to Bitcoin.
At the moment, the government could seize the legally acquired bitcoin of a person if the Utxo himself had previously been used in evasion sanctions or touched a Darknet market; Regardless of the fact that its owner was aware of the history of the coin when obtaining it. By introducing active consent and intentional blindness, the prerequisite fair act that the owner of Bitcoin to be renounced was aware of the origins of the BTC acquired for the decline to be applied.
The Fair Act also requires the government to appoint a consultant for the owners of properties who are not financially able to obtain representation or if the cost of obtaining representation would exceed the value of the property seized – a problem that has probably prevented many from contesting the decline of the activities in the first place, since the confiscation of civil activities actually pours the burden of proof. At the moment, to get your property, you must prove that the government is wrong instead that the government must make a case against you.
“The decadence of civil activities allows federal law enforcement officers to seize the ownership of the Americans who have not even been accused or sentenced for a crime,” said Senator Booker, who introduced the bill together with Senator Rand Paul. “On the basis of this system, the police can maintain money, cars and even houses based on the simple suspicion of a crime. These losses often become profits of the police because the burden is for the owner to demonstrate that they should get their property back.”
“The government should never have the power to seize the ownership of a person without the right trial. However, according to the current laws on the decline of civil activities, the Americans are stripped of their property without ever being accused or convicted of a crime. The fair law directly faces these injustices directly and is a critical step for the restoration of fairness and responsibility, protect the rights of the owners and cook the weapons of civil laws once and for everyone,” Paul.
If you are cheering on the strategic Bitcoin reserve, the disappearance of the Fair Act should be a prerequisite for its factory to ensure that the government’s bitcoin stack is not built on the abuse of its powers.
This is a post for L0la L33TZ guests. The opinions expressed are entirely proper and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.