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The problem is that you're paying for legal representation. Even if you get the money back by the time you pay legal bills there may not be much of it left.
by fencepost 11y ago
The problem is that you're paying for legal representation. Even if you get the money back by the time you pay legal bills there may not be much of it left.
- gmac 11y agoSo this 'civil forfeiture' is appalling and Orwellian enough in its own right, but it's also one of those cases where the apparent inability to award costs in US courts seems truly insane. If this happened under the English legal system, you can be pretty sure the courts would make the DEA pay both sides' legal costs for meritless seizures like this one. So if you were prepared to take the risk of going to court you'd at least stand a good chance of getting all your money back. (IANAL, But My Wife Is).
- learnstats2 11y agoIn my opinion the English courts don't even go far enough. There are plenty of cases where it's worthwhile for a malicious actor to antagonize someone, safe in the knowledge that the most they can lose is the legal costs. That is, if the victim is able to offer the significant effort and cash enough to seek legal recourse.