DOJ Appealing Decisions Against ATF Sting Operations

The Department of
Justice is appealing two recent decisions by federal judges in Los
Angeles that found the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives (ATF) practice of setting up fake stash houses and
enticing small-time criminals to rob them (a
strategy the ATF is proud of) unconstitutional.

USA Today
reports:

A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles
declined to comment on the cases because they are ongoing.
In court filings, however, prosecutors have blasted what they
called Real’s “barely defensible” decision to release “dangerous
recidivist criminals” and pointed to a long history of similar
investigations that have been approved by the courts.

The ATF quietly made such stash-house stings a central part of
its effort to target violent criminals, more than quadrupling their
use over the past decade. A USA
TODAY investigation last year found that the stings led to
more than 1,000 arrests, often sweeping up small-time criminals who
jump at the chance to make hundreds of thousands of dollars for a
few hours of work.

One of the judges, Manuel Real, ordered the release of three men
caught in such an operation. They had already pled guilty and their
lawyers were not seeking to have the charges overturned.

The judicial backlash isn’t limited to the two decisions.
Another federal circuit court judge in Los Angeles, Jimmy Carter
appointee Stephen Reinhardt, warned of tyranny lurking around the
corner because of the bureau’s disturbing practice,
writing that “government verges too close to tyranny when it
sends its agents trolling through bars, tempts people to engage in
criminal conduct, and locks them up for unconscionable periods of
time when they fall for the scheme.” In Chicago, meanwhile, a
federal judge last year wondered whether the ATF’s stings unfairly
targeted minorities.

The ATF can apparently run anti-drug operations independently of
the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), likely based on the
government’s
claim that the drug trade is often linked to firearms (as the
trade of any substance or product prohibited by government would
likely be).