Posted on 03/21/2015 9:53:16 AM PDT by PJ-Comix
The New Mexico state legislature passed a groundbreaking bill Saturday to abolish civil asset forfeiture.
Now Republican Gov. Susana Martinez, who will likely get attention as a potential 2016 vice presidential candidate, will have the bill on her desk.
Civil asset forfeiture is a practice where police can take and keep your property without convicting or even charging you of a crime. Then, you must go through the arduous and often unsuccessful process to get your property–whether it’s a vehicle, cash or your home–back from the police.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailycaller.com ...
The Drug police love this....boats, cars, cash...Can’t even imagine how much pilfering has occurred.
Big problem at the state level, in some states anyway. Need to end the practice at the federal level too.
Injustice always results when the criminal justice system is used as a revenue enhancer.
I seen Tha Mountain Top.....!!!
LET MY PEOPLE GO......!!
This is great, but why is such a bill needed in the first place? What about the fourth amendment? What about due process?
At any rate, bravo to Gov. Martinez. She is an example of what it means to be a steward of the people of your state, and instructive to the other 49.
Put her up against Hillary! in 2016. How about Cruz/Martinez or Martinez/Cruz?
YES!!!
Civil Asset Forfeiture makes us a Banana Republic
She’s on my “short list” for prez. As is Mary Fallon gov of OK.
I am still waiting for Western Status to pass a tax on the Federal Workers who buy stuff in their state for official business.
This would be part of real reparations for Federal Takings via law, regulations, failure to enforce the law (immigration), and not releasing federal lands back to the state.
Upside down world where we need a law to prohibit what common sense would have told you that practice was wrong in the first place.
She needs to sign this with a flourish, this is an idea whose time has gone due to grotesque abuse of the citizenry.
It is about spending $500 to get your $400 pistol back.
The number of legit firearms “confiscated” probably runs into the millions.
Walker/Martinez 2016 - Liberal heads will EXPLODE all across the land.
Ah, Sweet! :)
If a ‘rat gets on board with this, I can once again have some hope that people are starting to look around, notice that this nation is resembling a police state, and not liking the view one bit. A little late for many that have had their lives ruined, but better than just letting the creeping soft tyranny continue its incremental advancing.
about time somebody did this.
Innocent until proven guilty?! Police as agents of the elected government rather than a law and power unto themselves?!? Backward reels the mind.
An "inventory search" upon arrest requires constitutional probable cause. Arrest does not require charges to be filed or a conviction, it only requires probable cause that the suspect was involved in a crime. An inventory search secures and documents the arrestee's/suspect's belongings while he is at the police station for the purpose of protecting the items and protecting against charges of police theft. That all seems legit to me.
However, if there is some unreasonable delay and expense in getting that stuff back if the arrestee is let go or gets bail, that should be corrected
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