Here's a great example of overt bias. The mainstream media and the self proclaimed "civil libertarians" are aghast at the Bush administration's use of "warrant less wiretaps." However, our local version has been largely ignored by the media. Attorney General Terry Goddard has been seizing out of state wire transfers based on profiles of the participants. Goddard was thoroughly slapped down by judge fields.
The Attorney General...has a theory that because Arizona has problems with illegal drugs and undocumented persons within the State, it can search and seize money transfers from other States to the Republic of Mexico, question the recipients of the transfer and, if the telephonic explanation to an Arizona law enforcement agent is not sufficient, then forfeit the money. Unfortunately there are several legal problems with the actions of the State agents.
Ouch. That's going to leave a mark. Judge Fields goes on to list some of these unfortunate legal problems with the AG's theory.
There are no facts to support statutory or constitutional jurisdiction to conduct the extra territorial searches and seizures by Arizona. Additionally, the seizure warrant here is a general warrant allowing government agents to search for and seize property in order to determine if there has been a crime committed and if the property is evidence of the crime. General warrants are prohibited by the fourth amendment to the U.S. Constitution. A search/seizure warrant can only be based on particularized probable cause.
What? Do you mean to tell me that the Arizona Attorney General can't seize money that's being sent from El Paso to Sonora just because the guy who is sending it fits his profile of a smuggler? That's an outrage.
You don't need to be a lawyer to see the problems with Mr. Goddard's "theory," all you have to do is watch a couple episodes of "Law and Order" to know that you need probable cause to get a search warrant.
Where are all the civil libertarians who won't let Wal Mart repossess a stereo without a full blown hearing? What are they going to do to protect the guy who works in Sante Fe and sends his paycheck to his wife in Sonora and finds out that the Arizona Attorney General seized the funds without a warrant? Who is going to stick up for him? Sure, if he can convince the AG that the money is really his, he might be able to get it back. Is that due process? What if he's not in the country legally? Is he going to call the AG hot line or just let the money go?
What about the media reaction? The Republic buried the story on B2.
Incredibly, the Republic's Richard Ruelas seems to actually defend the program.
Goddard led a program that targeted wire transfers coming into Arizona. His office developed a profile of what a transfer to a smuggler looked like and got court orders that seized that cash. People would have to prove the money was a legitimate transfer to get the cash. The rest were assumed to be proceeds of smuggling. It worked so well that smugglers started getting money transferred into Mexico rather than Arizona. Goddard tried chasing the transactions across the border, but Western Union cried foul and a judge halted his efforts.
To its credit, the Tribune editorialized against the program.
That’s the type of blatant unreasonable seizures that the Fourth Amendment strictly forbids. This practice would be little different than allowing the police to break into every home in higher-crime neighborhoods to search for drug dealers and gang members, including the abodes of innocent residents who don’t want the long arm of the law rummaging through their closets.
Where are the self-proclaimed civil libertarians? Where's the outrage from the immigrants rights advocates? Where's State Representative Krysten Sinema, mmigration advocate Salvador Reza and ACLU Director Eleanor Eisenstat? Sitting on their hands that's where. Because the reactions from the left aren't based on what's being done, they are based on who is doing it. It's not what's being said, it's who is saying it. Goddard gets a free pass from this group.
What if a conservative, say Maricopa County Attorney Andy Thomas, seized money from alleged smugglers in other states using a general warrant? The candlelight vigils would be A1 above the fold in every newspaper in the state. However, I don't think that's likely to happen. I'm sure Mr. Thomas has seen Law and Order.
Eleanor Eisenberg is no longer the director of the state ACLU.
Posted by: Tim | January 29, 2007 at 02:54 PM