Guilty before proven innocent, thuggish prosecution tactics by the feds

The Kaleys simply want to use their own money to retain counsel of choice to defend them at trial," said one of their attorneys, Howard Srebnick of Black Srebnick Kornspan & Stumpf in Miami. "The government is interfering by freezing their assets, including the equity in the home they purchased more than a decade ago, without giving the Kaleys an opportunity pre-trial to confront witnesses and present evidence to establish they have committed no crime."

The Kaleys set aside about $1 million to pay attorneys by taking out a second home mortgage and cashing certificates of deposit. But prosecutors claimed the money was ill-gotten gains. They charged Kerri Kaley stored the medical equipment in the family's garage. Her husband was indicted after she refused a plea deal. Prosecutors said he knew about the conspiracy and managed the illegal profits.

On the face of it, this charge is absurd. As one commentator at the WSJ law blog asks, “he defendants make a good argument under the 5th and 6th. How can the government freeze assets BEFORE proving they were “ill-gotten”? That’s crazy!” In other words, in these cases, guilt is assumed.

Like many other corruptions of civil liberties, asset seizures got their start in drug cases:

Miami criminal defense lawyer Jane Moscowitz, who’s representing Miami criminal defense lawyer Ben Kuehne against money laundering charges, says that bad rulings in drug cases “eventually come and pollute the prosecution of white-collar cases.”

The linked article also touches on the cost of defending white collar charges. Just for document review alone costs are over one million dollars. We touched on how costs can affect the decision to settle in earlier posts. What chance does an individual stand against the resources of the state? Almost none, which is why no matter what the charge is, the only options for most people, is to cut a deal. Almost no one can afford justice; any win would be a pyrrhic one.