Fighting for Fees-Drug Trafficking and the Forfeiture of Attorney's Fees

In the past two years since the passage of 1984 amendments as part of the Comprehensive Crime Control Act, government prosecutors have included defense counsel fees as forfeitable assets stemming from drug trafficking and organized crime prosecutions. This development has been described by affected...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Drug Issues
Main Authors: Dombrink, John, Meeker, James W., Paik, Julie
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publications 1988
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/002204268801800308
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/002204268801800308
id crsagepubl:10.1177/002204268801800308
record_format openpolar
spelling crsagepubl:10.1177/002204268801800308 2024-06-16T07:38:06+00:00 Fighting for Fees-Drug Trafficking and the Forfeiture of Attorney's Fees Dombrink, John Meeker, James W. Paik, Julie 1988 http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/002204268801800308 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/002204268801800308 en eng SAGE Publications http://journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license Journal of Drug Issues volume 18, issue 3, page 421-436 ISSN 0022-0426 1945-1369 journal-article 1988 crsagepubl https://doi.org/10.1177/002204268801800308 2024-05-19T13:03:11Z In the past two years since the passage of 1984 amendments as part of the Comprehensive Crime Control Act, government prosecutors have included defense counsel fees as forfeitable assets stemming from drug trafficking and organized crime prosecutions. This development has been described by affected defense counsel as having an “arctic” effect upon their relationships with clients, as an abridgement of Sixth Amendment right to counsel, and as a deterrent to effective lawyering in this field. Prosecutors, on the contrary, have argued that a person can neither purchase a Rolls Royce nor a “Rolls Royce class of attorney” with proceeds of criminality. This paper delineates the issues in this debate, and their genesis, as articulated injudicial opinions; interviews with prosecutors and leading defense attorneys in Los Angeles, Miami, and New York City; published articles; and transcripts of hearings held by bar associations. In addition to the fees issue, similar controversial issues, such as grand jury subpoenas of attorneys and cash reporting requirements placed on attorneys, are addressed. Particular attention is paid to the increased adversariness in this stratum of the criminal justice system, and to the impact these developments have and will have on the quality of justice in major drug trafficking and organized crime cases. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic SAGE Publications Arctic Royce ENVELOPE(-118.836,-118.836,56.217,56.217) Journal of Drug Issues 18 3 421 436
institution Open Polar
collection SAGE Publications
op_collection_id crsagepubl
language English
description In the past two years since the passage of 1984 amendments as part of the Comprehensive Crime Control Act, government prosecutors have included defense counsel fees as forfeitable assets stemming from drug trafficking and organized crime prosecutions. This development has been described by affected defense counsel as having an “arctic” effect upon their relationships with clients, as an abridgement of Sixth Amendment right to counsel, and as a deterrent to effective lawyering in this field. Prosecutors, on the contrary, have argued that a person can neither purchase a Rolls Royce nor a “Rolls Royce class of attorney” with proceeds of criminality. This paper delineates the issues in this debate, and their genesis, as articulated injudicial opinions; interviews with prosecutors and leading defense attorneys in Los Angeles, Miami, and New York City; published articles; and transcripts of hearings held by bar associations. In addition to the fees issue, similar controversial issues, such as grand jury subpoenas of attorneys and cash reporting requirements placed on attorneys, are addressed. Particular attention is paid to the increased adversariness in this stratum of the criminal justice system, and to the impact these developments have and will have on the quality of justice in major drug trafficking and organized crime cases.
format Article in Journal/Newspaper
author Dombrink, John
Meeker, James W.
Paik, Julie
spellingShingle Dombrink, John
Meeker, James W.
Paik, Julie
Fighting for Fees-Drug Trafficking and the Forfeiture of Attorney's Fees
author_facet Dombrink, John
Meeker, James W.
Paik, Julie
author_sort Dombrink, John
title Fighting for Fees-Drug Trafficking and the Forfeiture of Attorney's Fees
title_short Fighting for Fees-Drug Trafficking and the Forfeiture of Attorney's Fees
title_full Fighting for Fees-Drug Trafficking and the Forfeiture of Attorney's Fees
title_fullStr Fighting for Fees-Drug Trafficking and the Forfeiture of Attorney's Fees
title_full_unstemmed Fighting for Fees-Drug Trafficking and the Forfeiture of Attorney's Fees
title_sort fighting for fees-drug trafficking and the forfeiture of attorney's fees
publisher SAGE Publications
publishDate 1988
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/002204268801800308
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/002204268801800308
long_lat ENVELOPE(-118.836,-118.836,56.217,56.217)
geographic Arctic
Royce
geographic_facet Arctic
Royce
genre Arctic
genre_facet Arctic
op_source Journal of Drug Issues
volume 18, issue 3, page 421-436
ISSN 0022-0426 1945-1369
op_rights http://journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license
op_doi https://doi.org/10.1177/002204268801800308
container_title Journal of Drug Issues
container_volume 18
container_issue 3
container_start_page 421
op_container_end_page 436
_version_ 1802004826070974464