“The fact is, most of the time the cops actually do have reasonable doubt. How many of that gob of money was taken from people that WERE involved in drugs?”
This comment reveals a common misunderstanding of the concept of probable cause (which is what you really mean by “reasonable doubt”, I think). Probable cause is not reasonable if it is not specific to the case at hand. Saying that “many people who carry lots of cash are drugs dealers, and you are carrying lots of cash” just doesn’t meet the definition, because it is too non-specific.
Now, if the cop knew that $18,275 in five dollar bills had recently been robbed from a bank nearby, and he stopped a car that was carrying $18,275 in five dollar bills, that would be probable cause, as it could be reasonably viewed as evidence linked to a specific criminal act. Just a random large amount of money could come from any number of sources, and therefore can’t be evidence for any specific criminal act.
This comment reveals a common misunderstanding of the concept of probable cause (which is what you really mean by “reasonable doubt”, I think).
Well, to be fair, they are both “legal terms” and I’m just trying to be conversational. What I mean is that they have their HONEST suspisions before they even find the money that something’s not right. I understand there are some roads in the US that are VERY popular drug running routes and the cops can be rather agressive with some people they pull over. If you have a large sum of cash that is legitimate you may be risking it simply by driving those roads. Not that I think that is right, but you gotta ask yourself how many people who are NOT drug dealers carry large sums of cash. And what are the odds of them getting pulled over AND SEARCHED on one of these roads.
Then there was the black elderly woman after hurricane andrew who was driving west with her life savings to buy building material to fix her damaged home (because local lumberyards were gouging the buyers). But then even in that case does her story hold water? I certainly would not have needed to do that to buy building materials.
IOW, even these “unfair” stories we hear about may not be all that unfair. I like to say that they got Al Capone on tax evasion. What if the parents in the op were CLEARLY part of the drug thing but the cops could not prove it?
But again, none of my info is first hand, and I’ve read plenty of stories about people who were clearly victims of the police and won their court case. But each case is unique and both sides really do need to be heard.
And the cops should be treated like robbers when they get caught.