5 ms·

Seized assets should sit in escrow until their owner is convicted of a crime and the assets are shown to the be the fruits of that crime. If that can't be done

Seized assets should sit in escrow until their owner is convicted of a crime and the assets are shown to the be the fruits of that crime. If that can't be done within, say, a year -- two, at the most -- the assets should be returned, with interest. That, I think, is the most important change to make here. Right now people who have assets seized are effectively guilty until proven innocent, and I don't see how that's even remotely Constitutional. Once that is changed, I agree with you: the money should go to the state's general fund or the US treasury, not the police department.

DanBC 12y ago
How do I pay my legal fees if my seized cash is being held in escrow?
- praptak 12y ago
  You can't, and that is on purpose. You know, if you could pay your legal fees, so could a drug lord.
  - otterley 12y ago
    Even drug lords are innocent until proven guilty. Or are supposed to be, anyway. Except for treason, the Constitution doesn't distinguish between offenses charged.
  - waterlesscloud 12y ago
    If a drug lord has massive amounts of money, that's just a sign the government has failed in its job to catch him earlier. They don't build up those reserves overnight. Why should the government be rewarded for failing in their job for so long? But aside from that...so what? If the system allows pricey attorneys to subvert the system, the problem isn't the pricey attorneys...
- Voodoo463 12y ago
  Pro Bono, Hope for the best!
- AnthonyMouse 12y ago
  > How do I pay my legal fees if my seized cash is being held in escrow? The sensible thing to do is to treat it similar to a bankruptcy. Prevent the defendant from transferring the assets out of the country or spending them on hookers and blow but allow them to be used for legitimate expenses like continuing the operation of the defendant's business or household or legal expenses.
- ScottBurson 12y ago
  That's a fair question, to which I think AnthonyMouse suggests a good answer, but my primary point was that the cash shouldn't be spent outright before due process has concluded or the time limit hit.
- nthj 12y ago
  I've wondered about this. If somebody had tens of millions of dollars, it seems like it might be worth it to pay a lawyer a retainer or insurance or something–"Hey, you have to take care of me if a government ever seized all my assets." Otherwise, how do you hire legal representation to retrieve your wealth?

DanBC 12y ago

How do I pay my legal fees if my seized cash is being held in escrow?

praptak 12y ago
You can't, and that is on purpose. You know, if you could pay your legal fees, so could a drug lord.
- otterley 12y ago
  Even drug lords are innocent until proven guilty. Or are supposed to be, anyway. Except for treason, the Constitution doesn't distinguish between offenses charged.
- waterlesscloud 12y ago
  If a drug lord has massive amounts of money, that's just a sign the government has failed in its job to catch him earlier. They don't build up those reserves overnight. Why should the government be rewarded for failing in their job for so long? But aside from that...so what? If the system allows pricey attorneys to subvert the system, the problem isn't the pricey attorneys...
Voodoo463 12y ago
Pro Bono, Hope for the best!
AnthonyMouse 12y ago
> How do I pay my legal fees if my seized cash is being held in escrow? The sensible thing to do is to treat it similar to a bankruptcy. Prevent the defendant from transferring the assets out of the country or spending them on hookers and blow but allow them to be used for legitimate expenses like continuing the operation of the defendant's business or household or legal expenses.
ScottBurson 12y ago
That's a fair question, to which I think AnthonyMouse suggests a good answer, but my primary point was that the cash shouldn't be spent outright before due process has concluded or the time limit hit.
nthj 12y ago
I've wondered about this. If somebody had tens of millions of dollars, it seems like it might be worth it to pay a lawyer a retainer or insurance or something–"Hey, you have to take care of me if a government ever seized all my assets." Otherwise, how do you hire legal representation to retrieve your wealth?