Court struggles over frozen assets, lawyer fees

By Sam Hananel Associated Press writer

Posted November 11, 2015 3:23 PM

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court struggled on Tuesday over whether the government can freeze the financial assets of people accused of crimes if the money is not directly tied to criminal activity and is needed to pay a defense lawyer.Several of the justices appeared sympathetic to a Miami woman accused of $45 million in Medicare fraud who claims federal prosecutors violated her constitutional rights when they put a hold on her assets that included money unrelated to the charges.At issue is whether the forfeiture deprives …

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