Apparently there is a law in Texas (and maybe elsewhere??) which allows police departments to seize suspects' assets to fund their budgets. Suspects as in those suspected of a crime but not convicted. And apparently some TX legislators have tried to put a stop to this; and Trump demanded names so that he could 'destroy' them.
From Yahoo! News; but I have seen it elsewhere:
Police departments have often used the proceeds from seizing suspects’ cash and belongings to fund part of their budgets. They have said the seizures help deter crime.
“We’ve got a state senator in Texas who was talking about introducing legislation to require conviction before we could receive that forfeiture money,” Eavenson told Trump. “I told him that the cartel would build a monument to him in Mexico if he could get that legislation passed.”
Quite apart from Trump's behavior which is now the new to-be-expected, can this be true?
Suspects as in those suspected of a crime but not convicted.
Get booked on a DWI they sieze your car here on LI. I think suffolk returns it to you if are aquitted or not convicted of a felony. From what I read, Nassau keeps it on any kind of conviction. http://meolalaw.com/nassau-county-to-re ... rfeitures/
From 2005 to 2008, Nassau County operated the most aggressive DUI forfeiture program in New York State, seizing approximately 200 vehicles per week. The County stopped forfeiting vehicles in 2008 because a change in leadership brought a different philosophy which limited forfeiture to only felony cases.
Now, there has been another management change in the County Attorney’s office and the philosophy has swung back towards the 2005 model, with a few adjustments. As a result the County is about to launch the most aggressive DUI seizure and forfeiture program known to date. This is like déjà vu all over again. Here is an overview of what may be expected.
On February 24, 2014 Nassau County selected a private law firm to handle its renewed forfeiture program. Thus, a private law firm and not county lawyers will be controlling seizure and release of vehicles. It is likely that the law firm will be aggressive as the contract granted to the law firm pays the firm a percentage of all money raised from forfeiture.
Vehicles will be seized where the operator has a Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) of .06 or greater. A BAC of .08 is intoxication. Even a first time offense of driving while ability impaired will result in seizure and forfeiture. Thus there will be a lot of vehicles seized.
Vehicles will be retained in the County Impound and not released to the offender. Under Federal Law the County must seek court approval for every minute that it holds a vehicle–short term detention must be approved at a hearing (called a Krimstock hearing) held promptly after the seizure and long term detention must be justified by a forfeiture lawsuit. At the Krimstock hearing the County has to show that it is likely that it will win its case for forfeiture.
Most offenders are willing to plead guilty to the charge of driving while ability impaired (DWAI) because a DWAI is not a criminal offense. Although such a plea resolves the criminal case favorably for the driver, the Nassau County law is set up so that a plea to any drinking and driving offense will prove the County’s case for forfeiture of the vehicle used in the offense. The bottom line is that the County will is likely to win almost every forfeiture lawsuit brought against the driver/offender. Lienholders/Lessors can protect their interests from forfeiture by demonstrating that they are innocent—meaning that they had no reason to know that the owner would drive while impaired and took all reasonable steps to prevent illegal use of the vehicle.
Based upon the County’s prior practices, innocent Lienholder/Lessors need to get ready to handle several thorny problems caused by this type of DUI seizure and forfeiture. First, be prepared for volume. Second, be prepared to file an answer to the forfeiture lawsuits as failure to do so could result in loss of a car by default. Third, be wary of situations where the County offers to release a vehicle upon the promise not to return the car to a customer who is current on his payments as this promise may open the Lienholder/ Lessor to a consumer protection lawsuit for denial of the customer’s statutory right to redeem.
Fourth, in the event that the County offers to return a car to the driver be aware that Lienholders/Lessors will be on notice that this driver has a DUI offense which may jeopardize innocent Lienholder/Lessor status if another DUI occurs in the same vehicle. Also, such notice may trigger vicarious liability under the Graves Amendment if the car is used in a subsequent DUI that causes personal injury.
It is likely that the County will begin this program before June 1, 2014. In the past we were able to develop streamlined procedures for protecting Lienholder/Lessor interests in Nassau County. We will keep you posted as more information becomes available
Suffolk County law requires the seizure of all vehicles, whether or not the vehicle is owned by the operator, upon making an arrest or upon issuing a summons or an appearance ticket for operating a vehicle or vessel while intoxicated (with a prior conviction); without a license (with a prior conviction); reckless driving (with a prior conviction); being engaged in a speed contest; unlawfully fleeing a police officer or working as an unlicensed contractor. The Police Department has no discretion and cannot give you legal advice. If your vehicle has been seized for any other reason, please see the Suffolk County District Attorney’s webpage for further information.
Suffolk County District Attorney's Office
Once the vehicle or vessel is seized, the owner will receive a Notice of Seizure and Hearing, via US Mail, seven – ten business days from the date of seizure. The Notice will inform the owner the date, location and time which a hearing has been scheduled before a Judicial Hearing Officer. The Judicial Hearing Officer will decide if the County is to retain possession of the vehicle during the pendency of the civil forfeiture proceeding.
If you want to regain possession of a vehicle or vessel, or if you need legal advice, you may consult with an attorney. You are not required to have an attorney present to proceed at the hearing. The County Attorney’s Office represents the interests of the County and cannot give you legal advice.
Yep, its real and its been going on for decades. It continues because police know who they can steal from who can't fight back (on the whole) and they focus on them.
When I worked in forensic tox. there was a case in the San Fernando valley where a man with no criminal history was stopped for a minor traffic violation and the officer saw $30,000 in cash. Te cop said it was 'obviously' drug money and took it even though the victim said he was on his way to invest in a business and has the bank receipt to show he had just withdrawn it from the bank. It took him a year, thousands of dollars for a lawyer, and he had to hire an expert witness to testify that a lot of currency in circulation had traces of cocaine on it.
It also creates perverse incentives which lead to even worse outcomes. The Sheriffs in Ventura had an anonymous tip that drugs were being sold/produced at a multi-million dollar residence (and no other probable cause at0 all). They saw seizing the property as a huge score so they raided it in the middle of the night; kicking the door in. The homeowner who was not a drug dealer heard his wife screaming "don't kill me" thought it was a home invasion and armed himself so the police murdered him in the course of their attempted robbery.
The police never admitted wrongdoing but lost a suit and had to pay a few million in compensation. Mostly they stick to poor and black people who they can steal from and kill with impunity.
Today Charlie Pierce leads off his "This Week In the Laboratories of Democracy" post ("our semi-regular survey of what's goin' down in the several states where, as we know, the real work of governmentin' gets done, and where waterfalls of pity roar") with this:
We begin in Pennsylvania, where a state legislator seems a bit perturbed with our new president. From Philly Voice:
Leach, who has pushed for civil asset forfeiture reform in Pennsylvania, invited Trump to come after him as well. "Hey! I oppose civil asset forfeiture too," Leach wrote on Facebook and Twitter. "Why don't you come after me you fascist, loofa-faced s***-gibbon!!"
Note to Pennsylvanians: You keep electing people like this guy and I'm going to have to get out of the business.
People who are wrong are just as sure they're right as people who are right. The only difference is, they're wrong.
— God@The Tweet of God
