Outrageous and Expanding Civil Forfeiture Tactics: How to Restore 'Innocent Until Proven Guilty'

Townhall ^ | 12/19/2014 | Jared Meyer

[who_would_fardels_bear]

Both Republican and Democrat politicians have been in favor of this.

It was an easy way to pretend to be "tough on crime" and "tough on gangs and the mafia".

[ptsal]

Over the rail with both parties

Leon Klinghofer

[Michael.SF.]

Rep. Sandy Levin (D-MI) to introduce the Taxpayer Protections Against Abusive Seizures Act.

That Act is begging for a clever acronymic name:

"TAPAS" -- For all the Spanish food aficionados

"TAPAASS" -- That would get 0bama's attention

[cripplecreek]

Big issue in Michigan lately.

[marktwain]

You can thank former AG Dan Lundgren of California for this mess. He is the one who pushed modern asset forfeiture. The concept was originally used to stop smuggling, where the people doing the smuggling stayed outside of U.S. jurisdiction.

It is a product of the War on Some Drugs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Lungren

[fella]

Why can we not aim civil forfeiture at the illegal aliens? After all any property and money that they have gotten while in our country illegally are by definition ill gotten gains and should be forfitted when they are caught. The police could be self financing for a long time.

[beethovenfan]

Our government has become a strong-arm robber.

[indthkr]

Soviet Era Justice bump for later....

[precisionshootist]

"Rep. Sandy Levin (D-MI) to introduce the Taxpayer Protections Against Abusive Seizures Act. That Act is begging for a clever acronymic name: "TAPAS" -- For all the Spanish food aficionados "TAPAASS" -- That would get 0bama's attention "

How about just make it illegal to steal other peoples stuff no matter who you are and give the citizens the right to stop it.

Call it something like

Citizens abuse protectsion against state seizures or,

CAPASS

[softengine]

Anyone else note the pitiful irony in having to pass a law to get our 5th amendment rights BACK?

[gibsosa]

bump

[who_would_fardels_bear]

TAPAS = Taxpayers Against Politicians Abusive Seizures Act

TAPASS = Taxpayers Aren't Policemens' Alternative Subsidy Source

[Michael.SF.]

Works for me!

[MUDDOG]

Big issue in Michigan lately.

From the link below:

"Only one state, North Carolina, bans the practice, requiring a criminal conviction before a person’s property can be seized."

Taken: Under civil forfeiture, Americans who haven’t been charged with wrongdoing can be stripped of their cash, cars, and even homes. Is that all we’re losing? (New Yorker 8/12/2013)

[AppyPappy]

PRESUMED innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

If you were presumed innocent at the moment of arrest, you wouldn’t be arrested.

Duh....

[Ken H]

Asset forfeiture is one reason why cops are the biggest drug war whores. President George H W Bush, March 05, 1991 =>

Asset forfeiture laws allow us to take the ill-gotten gains of drug kingpins and use them to put more cops on the streets and more prosecutors in court.

In the last 5 years alone, the Justice Department shared over half a billion dollars in forfeited assets with State and local law enforcement.

http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/research/public_papers.php?id=2764&year=1991&month=3

[cripplecreek]

The Michigan legislature has been debating it a lot recently. There are a couple of different stories about it here.

http://www.michigancapitolconfidential.com/pubs/mcc/

[Ken H]

Corrected link from previous post =>http://bush41library.tamu.edu/archives/public-papers/2764

[CincyRichieRich]

Like this is already happening with IRS taking accounts from people...Any reason this couldn’t be done with gold and silver holdings or IRAs?