FAIR Act of 2023

Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration Act of 2023 or the FAIR Act of 2023

This bill revises federal laws governing civil asset forfeiture.

Specifically, the bill makes various changes to the general rules governing civil forfeiture proceedings. Among the changes, the bill

• requires counsel for an indigent property owner whose primary residence is the subject of a civil forfeiture hearing regardless of whether the owner requests counsel,
• raises the evidentiary standard from preponderance of the evidence to clear and convincing evidence, and
• sets forth factors courts must consider in determining whether a forfeiture of property used to facilitate the commission of an offense is excessive.

Additionally, the bill eliminates statutory authority for equitable sharing and directs forfeiture proceeds to be deposited into the general fund of the Treasury instead of the Department of Justice (DOJ) Assets Forfeiture Fund.

The bill also makes changes with respect to the civil forfeiture of money involved in structuring offenses (i.e., structuring currency transactions to evade currency reporting requirements). Among the changes, the bill

• specifies an evidentiary standard of knowingly for structuring offenses, and
• requires a prompt probable cause hearing following the seizure of money involved in a structuring offense.

Finally, the bill requires the annual report on deposits into the DOJ Asset Forfeiture Fund to specify deposits from each type of forfeiture and specify which funds were obtained from criminal forfeitures and which were obtained from civil forfeitures.