A divided U.S. Supreme Court has determined that there is no right to challenge probable cause allowing the freezing of assets, even to pay for legal representation of choice. Restraining Orders to preserve forfeitable property are constitutionally permissible when probable cause exists and such assets can be traced or linked to the charged offense.
In Kaley v. United States, a grand jury indicted Kerri and Brian Kaley of reselling medical devices and laundering the proceeds. In turn, the government acquired a restraining order to freeze their assets. The Kaleys sought to vacate the order, since they intended to use a portion of the disputed funds to pay for their attorney fees. While the district court allowed the Kaleys to challenge the link between the assets and the crime, it did not permit challenging the factual basis for the indictment. Ultimately, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed this finding as well.
It should not be required for the frozen assets decision
The Supreme Court emphasized that the grand jury should have the final word as to whether probable cause exists, because a “fundamental and historic commitment of our criminal justice system is to entrust those probable cause findings to grand juries.” So, they reasoned, that if there can be no judicial review of a grand jury’s probable cause decision, then it should not be required for the frozen assets decision either. The court said that the Kaleys were basically asking for a “do over” on the indictment and they weren’t going to get it. The court was also concerned that if such second-guessing of a grand jury’s findings were allowed, it could lead to “strange and destructive consequences” and “undermine the criminal justice system’s integrity– and especially the grand jury’s integral, constitutionally prescribed role.” Allowing a judge to review the probable cause determination could lead to inconsistent findings governing the proceedings—like finding a lack of probable cause to freeze the assets but still the existence of probable cause to go to trial.
If you need assistance with criminal appeal in Michigan or federal courts, contact the experienced attorneys at The Kronzek Firm.