3 ms·

It's absolutely stunning to me that this practice ("civil asset forfeiture" without an associated conviction) has survived Constitutional review for this long.

by payne92 10y ago

fixxer 10y ago
Some municipalities are incredibly dependent on it. Sunrise, Florida comes to mind: http://www.forbes.com/sites/instituteforjustice/2013/10/30/florida-cops-made-millions-dealing-cocaine-the-latest-asset-forfeiture-outrage/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/instituteforjustice/2013/10/30/f...
- tbyehl 10y ago
  Sunrise FL has revenues north of $300M and a $40M police budget, forfeiture isn't exactly keeping the city afloat. And they were seizing cash / property from people who actually attempted to buy drugs not random people.
a3n 10y ago
Without even a charge being filed. Cops and state patrollers take classes on how to target people in cars passing through their states. It's big for cops, and big for consultants. https://www.mttuiv.org/files/AssForfDFoulkBIO.pdf https://www.mttuiv.org/files/AssForfDFoulkBIO.pdf
- metaphorm 10y ago
  > Without even a charge being filed. that's exactly why it has survived without review for this long. the courts can't just order an investigation the way, for example, Congress can. the judicial system requires either a criminal complaint (filed by the states' attorney) or a civil suit (filed by the injured party) in order to take up a case and examine the relevant law. this won't go anywhere until a victim of civil asset forfeiture sues the police department. that is EXTREMELY hard to get away with. Police have the "thin blue line" mentality and will go to extraordinary measures to protect their own tribe.
dexterdog 10y ago
I'm still waiting for the case where somebody shoots a police officer in a civil asset forfeiture and uses the argument that it was an armed robbery.
- smsm42 10y ago
  Unlikely to be successful. Once the officer does it under the color of the law (however insane the law is) or at least believes so, he is pretty much immune both from prosecution and from self-defense provisions. All people have equal rights, but some are more equal than other.
elastic_church 10y ago
Eh well just like eugenics programs survived constitutional review, all the states, territories and the federal government will have to just stop practicing it. Whether it is a new law in some states or merely political unfavorability preventing it from being an acceptable practice.

It's absolutely stunning to me that this practice ("civil asset forfeiture" without an associated conviction) has survived Constitutional review for this long.

by payne92 10y ago

It's absolutely stunning to me that this practice ("civil asset forfeiture" without an associated conviction) has survived Constitutional review for this long.

fixxer 10y ago

Some municipalities are incredibly dependent on it. Sunrise, Florida comes to mind: http://www.forbes.com/sites/instituteforjustice/2013/10/30/florida-cops-made-millions-dealing-cocaine-the-latest-asset-forfeiture-outrage/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/instituteforjustice/2013/10/30/f...

tbyehl 10y ago
Sunrise FL has revenues north of $300M and a $40M police budget, forfeiture isn't exactly keeping the city afloat. And they were seizing cash / property from people who actually attempted to buy drugs not random people.

a3n 10y ago

Without even a charge being filed. Cops and state patrollers take classes on how to target people in cars passing through their states. It's big for cops, and big for consultants. https://www.mttuiv.org/files/AssForfDFoulkBIO.pdf https://www.mttuiv.org/files/AssForfDFoulkBIO.pdf

metaphorm 10y ago
> Without even a charge being filed. that's exactly why it has survived without review for this long. the courts can't just order an investigation the way, for example, Congress can. the judicial system requires either a criminal complaint (filed by the states' attorney) or a civil suit (filed by the injured party) in order to take up a case and examine the relevant law. this won't go anywhere until a victim of civil asset forfeiture sues the police department. that is EXTREMELY hard to get away with. Police have the "thin blue line" mentality and will go to extraordinary measures to protect their own tribe.

dexterdog 10y ago

I'm still waiting for the case where somebody shoots a police officer in a civil asset forfeiture and uses the argument that it was an armed robbery.

smsm42 10y ago
Unlikely to be successful. Once the officer does it under the color of the law (however insane the law is) or at least believes so, he is pretty much immune both from prosecution and from self-defense provisions. All people have equal rights, but some are more equal than other.

elastic_church 10y ago

Eh well just like eugenics programs survived constitutional review, all the states, territories and the federal government will have to just stop practicing it. Whether it is a new law in some states or merely political unfavorability preventing it from being an acceptable practice.