Posted on 05/15/2015 9:13:01 AM PDT by Second Amendment First
Joseph Rivers was never convicted of a crime. He was never charged with one, or even officially detained. But that didn't stop the Drug Enforcement Administration from taking his life savings away under civil asset forfeiture, the highly controversial practice that allows law enforcement officers to take property from people whom they never even charge with a crime.
I spoke with Rivers's attorney, Michael Pancer of San Diego, about the case yesterday. He said the situation Rivers got caught up in -- where federal agents boarded a train and started asking people questions like "who are you?" and "where are you going?" -- is a lot more common than you might expect. "Their purpose is to try to find money to seize or find evidence of criminal activity," he told me. "That's why they do it. But I think the main purpose is to try to find money."
Many law-abiding citizens may not be worried about civil forfeiture laws, because why would police target you if you haven't committed a crime? But when it comes to civil asset forfeiture, it doesn't matter whether you commit a crime or not. If you exhibit certain types of behavior that law enforcement officers deem "suspicious" -- a broad category encompassing everything from having empty energy drink cans in your car to buying a one-way train ticket with cash -- they can use that as a basis for a determination that property you own was obtained through illegal means.
In last year's Washington Post investigation of highway asset forfeitures, experts outlined the contours of law governing these encounters. In a similar spirit, here's what experts say about how the law works in situations like the one Joseph Rivers found himself in.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
The war on drugs destroyed our bill of rights so nanny state enablers’ can feel good.
Don't get caught.
Or go into politics...
Good advice, but even if the search is later deemed to be illegal, your cash is gone.
Don’t carry large amounts of cash
Keep a receipt that shows where your cash came from
Don’t keep all your money in the USA
Understand that every Right you were granted under the Constitution has been steadily compromised.
The loss of freedoms under the guise of the War on Drugs is enough of a reason to end it.
“WOD” was nothing but the USA backing one cartel to minimize violence over competition.
Drug money is so easy to make and any monkey can do it. Violence (private or state sanctioned) determines who gets to sell.
IMO, that is the whole story
Are criminal illegals excluded here, too?
Of course they are.
Look, if you’re not doing anything wrong, you’ll never have these hassles. Cops are here to help us all! They need to be given latitude to do their jobs. Stop committing crimes and this stuff will stop. Besides, who’s to say Joseph Rivers wasn’t guilty of something? That’s a pretty suspicious name.
I live in a small town. My bank would have warned me if I was dumb enough to try such a thing.
I know better, but still...the bank should have warned the guy.
Do not answer their questions outside your name and address and do not allow a search without a warrant.
Did you forget the sarcasm tag?
Legalizing drugs is not going to fix law enforcement.
Combating drug use is the reason behind thousands of rights stealing laws in the country. Get rid of the WOD and you eliminate the reason to have these laws.
Worse than asset forfeiture is no knock raids on innocent people who end up dead.
No, legalizing drugs won’t fix law enforcement and government.
If you want to fix law enforcement and government then you have to fix it, not just leave everything the same, but take drugs off the list.
No, it won’t “fix law enforcement” but it will repair untold damage done to the US Constitution.
I would venture to guess that it is ILLEGAL for the bank to warn people. A bank is told to report anyone even inquiring about the laws and seizure stuff.
Look, I’m just saying cops have an impossible job. We need to support them no matter what they do. Sure, maybe they make a few mistakes, but who doesn’t? It’s time we get behind the police! Besides, all of us are guilty of SOME crime or another. If they don’t catch us for the crimes we DID commit, how can we complain about them catching us for the crimes we DIDN’T commit? They should keep the seized cash, and maybe should charge storage fees for it, too...
If you want a more constitutional government, then fight to end immigration, not to legalize drugs.
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