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Interesting. The news reports seem to consistently tell the story I repeated above, but I've read only a few. Is this something you have direct experience with
by hackuser 10y ago
Interesting. The news reports seem to consistently tell the story I repeated above, but I've read only a few. Is this something you have direct experience with as an attorney?
Your version is a little more heartening, but I also know the rules of the criminal legal system and its practice often are much different. For example, most people have little understanding of their rights and few resources to assert them.
- rayiner 10y agoI don't have any direct experience with asset forfeiture, no. But you should read the news reports with some skepticism. Note before going further: I strongly support innocence projects, public defenders, etc. But if you read the news you might think most convictions are faulty, or most people are coerced into pleading guilty to crimes they didn't commit. But if you ask someone who works at an innocence project or as a public defender, most will tell you: the overwhelming majority of people who are convicted or accused are actually guilty. I saw this directly as a judge's clerk: tons of sentencing appeals where the conviction was based on literally a pile of hard evidence. So yeah, people want to get rid of civil asset forfeiture (I do too!). So they tell you about the hard-working guy who saved $10,000 in cash and had it seized on the way to the dealership. They don't tell you about the 12 drug dealers who had $10,000 seized from their glove compartment the same day.