Civil Forfeiture: Another reason to hate the police!

[BoSoxGal]

This is 16 minutes, but it's got shocking statistics, it's funny as hell, and the ending is great fun!

[oldr_n_wsr]

I can't view it but from the title of this thread, I don't get that civil foreiture is the cops fault. Cops don't make the laws that cover civil forfeiture.

But maybe I am missing something that would be cleared up by seeing the video. Have to check at home.

[Lord Jim]

Oldr, I haven't watched the video, (a little John Oliver goes a long way for me; though I do have to give him credit for getting TTS to show his ass) but in many jurisdictions, the assets from civil forfeitures goes to augment the budget of the local police department. (And the local prosecutor's office as well.)

I am VERY opposed to this "process"...

I started a thread about it last fall:

A law that was obviously designed for the purpose of preventing big time drug dealers from profiting from their ill gotten gains is now being used to steal the property of honest, law-abiding citizens without due process in order to create a steady municipal revenue stream...(another insidious and perverse impact of the "war on drugs")

This is legalized state theft, pure and simple...

Forget the torches and pitchforks, let's go straight to measuring out the rope...

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=11814&p=145794&hilit=asset#p145794

[Long Run]

I agree, this is the worst example of government abusing its powers to levy fines. Another example is a situation like Ferguson, where the racism was endemic in the police department, but the real motivation was the greedy attempt to jack up revenues by fining the heck out of the people that were available (who happened to be mostly black). Similar to the cities and towns that set up speed traps aimed mostly at nailing non-residents. There was one small town police dept. in Oregon that was so bad about ranging up and down I-5 writing tickets that the legislature had to change the law which only gave the issuing department a few bucks when they wrote a ticket out of their jurisdiction. So the town annexed a couple mile stretch of land so that their city limits encompassed a freeway interchange and a portion of I-5, where aware drivers know to slow down and those who don't fund a huge chunk of the little town's budget.

[oldr_n_wsr]

I am not in favor of it either. I was just pointing out that it is not the cops that make the law, they only enforce it.
Here in NY in Nassau county they confiscate the cars of those "accused" of their first DWI then keep it if convicted. Problem is that it is not fair and equal punishment. One person may forfeit a junker, another may forfeit a luxury car for the same infraction.

Suffolk county had a similar law but I think it was changed to confiscating on the second or third DWI. I forget.

[BoSoxGal]

We have the DUI 'forfeit the vehicle' law here, too, but it's hardly ever used because most counties found it cost more to store and dispose of the vehicles than it was worth - and generally those defendants with nicer vehicles were unfairly penalized, as oldr points out.

What is outrageous (and why the video is worth watching, because although it's satirical, it's packed full of disturbing statistics about civil forfeiture nationwide - which are accurate) is the taking of property absent the allegation of criminal activity on behalf of the property's owner. The police - and prosecutors - are taking billions through civil forfeitures of property belonging to folks who are never charged with crimes.

If you can't make probable cause to charge an individual with a crime, you shouldn't take the $20k he had in his possession because you think it might be drug money - even though the individual has explained to you that he has offers outstanding on eBay to purchase a vehicle, and can show you those offers and prove that as the reason why he's carrying $20k in cash.

Civil forfeiture, as LJ said, it nothing more than the State stealing from citizens. When the LE agencies use those stolen citizen funds for margarita machines, parties, trips, etc. that only further undermines the community's trust in police - and given that many, many of the victims of civil forfeiture are law-abiding people, the LE agencies aren't doing themselves any favors.

[wesw]

civil forfeiture, another reason to change laws and interpretations of laws, would seem to be more civil title to this thread.

mean people hate.