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BREAKING: New Mexico Passes Bill To Abolish Civil Asset Forfeiture
Daily Caller ^ | March 21, 2015 | Casey Harper

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 ...


TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: assetforfeiture; civilforfeiture; forfeiture; newmexico; wod
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To: Diana in Wisconsin
Yes. Walker/Martinez

Walker has defeated democrats more than anyone to pass conservative laws, balance the budget, cut taxes, and turn a huge deficit into a surplus. Walker's record is unmatched! The rest of those going for the nomination are either marxists or just talkers. Actions and Results , a conservative record as governor are what matter. Talk means nothing

41 posted on 03/21/2015 11:33:52 AM PDT by Democrat_media (Obama illegally imposed socialist net neutrality on the Internet to ruin it)
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To: Responsibility2nd

Yawn...

Just think, if enough of us had not been propagandized enough to feel obliged to throw the weight of the State behind an effort to protect people from their own poor choices, the 4th amendment might still actually mean something in this nation.


42 posted on 03/21/2015 11:40:59 AM PDT by L,TOWM (Is it still too soon to start shooting?)
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To: PJ-Comix

Excellent news.


43 posted on 03/21/2015 11:43:02 AM PDT by NRx
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To: MichaelCorleone

Hold on...she hasn’t signed the bill into law yet. Here’s hoping that she does.


44 posted on 03/21/2015 11:47:50 AM PDT by Liberty1st
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To: Snow Eagle

My #1 choice is ALLEN WEST, but I also respect Carol Swain from TN.


45 posted on 03/21/2015 11:47:50 AM PDT by Liberty1st
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To: moehoward
Excellent way of putting it. Let's just give the State the power to take all of our belongings...after all, everybody commits a crime one way or another, no matter how small.
46 posted on 03/21/2015 11:47:50 AM PDT by Liberty1st
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

How about WEST/Martinez? My #1 fave is West/Palin (or vice-versa), but now that you mention Martinez’ name, I like that too despite my not knowing much about her other than her being the Gov of NM.


47 posted on 03/21/2015 11:47:50 AM PDT by Liberty1st
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To: PapaNew
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

I guess you have not been around for long.....(no offense meant):-)

This practice has been severely abused by local and State LEO's. It was not long ago, as the result of a traffic stop, that I spent 4,000 dollars and two years of my time getting a pistol that was worth only 500 dollars back.

Obviously it was principle that I was invoking...

They wanted to keep the gun because it was a former police issue sidearm.

48 posted on 03/21/2015 11:55:14 AM PDT by Cold Heat (Have you reached your breaking point yet? If not now....then when?)
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To: Cold Heat

Again, without probable cause of a crime, that seizure is flatly unconstitutional I don’t care how long they’ve been doing it.

The reason these things continue to happen is the people for whatever reason don’t stand up for their constitutional rights. It is the nature of government to trespass on individual constitutional rights. It is up to the people to see they don’t.


49 posted on 03/21/2015 12:05:37 PM PDT by PapaNew (The grace of God & freedom always win the debate in the forum of ideas over unjust law & government)
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To: bgill

They seize peoples cars, boats, trucks, houses, guns, etc. Then sell them to people at auction. Or they impound them, or put a lien on it that you have no possible way of paying. Or they throw you in jail because there is no possible way of paying for a fine. Then they berate you for not paying your fines. While jailed. It’s a vicious cycle and the whole criminal justice system is BS. Violent offenders should not be housed, they should be killed.


50 posted on 03/21/2015 12:07:40 PM PDT by FreedomStar3028 (Somebody has to step forward and do what is right because it is right, otherwise no one will follow.)
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To: L,TOWM

Pfffft........who needs the 4th Amendment when we have the scourge of drugs infesting our nation? That Amendment was written by a bunch of old, slave-owning white men well over 200 yrs ago. We have progressed way beyond those days now as America is being Transformed. (sarc)


51 posted on 03/21/2015 12:10:32 PM PDT by Liberty1st
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To: PJ-Comix

Good. Civil asset deprivation is foking unConstitutional, no deprivation of liberty or property or life without opportunity to be heard.


52 posted on 03/21/2015 12:11:28 PM PDT by yldstrk (My heroes have always been cowboys)
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To: Responsibility2nd
Drug dealers love this more. This will mean millions more in cash and assets they get to keep.

"It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer"
- Sir William Blackstone



And that doesn't even get into the fact that the federal government has no role to play in drug bans, and there's no reason a truly free people shouldn't be allowed to tend to themselves.
53 posted on 03/21/2015 12:16:42 PM PDT by Svartalfiar
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To: PapaNew
The practice of “inventory search” (see post#20) seems OK and constitutional but it should not be unreasonably difficult for an arrestee who is let go or gets bail to get his stuff back (except if he’ charged, maybe not stuff that may be criminal evidence).

I’m not sure if that’s what “Civil Asset Forfeiture” is or not.


Civil Asset Forfeiture is when the cops notice a briefcase with lots of money on your passenger seat (cause you're going to the next city over to buy a car) and they confiscate it because they think you might be dealing drugs. (Case in TX.)
Or you own a family grocery, and deposit a couple thousand each day to the bank. The feds think you're structuring (partial deposits to avoid the $10k report requirement, used by money launderers), so they get a secret warrant and drain your account for $35k. (MI case.)

In neither case is there an arrest, crime, or any evidence, the cops simply take the money and then you have to prove it wasn't used in a crime in order to get it back. Since it's money and not a person being held, there's no innocent til proven guilty thing. (Bullshit, but that's their argument.)

On the inventory search - so let's say you get pulled over for something, and arrested. Happen to match a robbery suspect description, slept in your car cause you were drunk and they didn't like that, etc etc. Wi9th no warrant to search your car, and no permission from you, they'll still go through it for the 'inventory'. What happens if they find a bunch of cash or something valuable? They may CAF it, then when you're released you have to then fight to prove it wasn't used in some other crime to get it back.
Side note - what if they find some pot or something in your car in that search? With no warrant/permission, should they be allowed to use any evidence from that against you?
54 posted on 03/21/2015 12:26:37 PM PDT by Svartalfiar
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To: Svartalfiar
[Their argument is] Since it's money and not a person being held, there's no innocent til proven guilty thing

That argument should fail in court because if the seizure wasn't based on probable cause to believe the item was associated with a crime, the seizure violates the 4th Amendment and is illegal.

what if they find some pot or something in your car in that search? With no warrant/permission, should they be allowed to use any evidence from that against you?

If it is illegal possession, then yes, because it was a valid search unless the arrest was invalid and not based on probable cause.

The concern is that 1) people don't know the Constitution, the limitations on government power, or the nature of their presumed God-given rights if not delegated to the feds by the Constitution. 2) people are not standing up for their constitutional rights but are too used to acquiescing to unconstitutional government acts because it is something called a "law" or it was done by the police.

55 posted on 03/21/2015 12:48:12 PM PDT by PapaNew (The grace of God & freedom always win the debate in the forum of ideas over unjust law & government)
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To: PapaNew; hoosierham; ConservingFreedom; All

The problem is that they apparently in many cases have not been returning items even without arrest. The Cato Inst. link explains the with Civil rather than Criminal Forfeiture, non only what a person is carrying, but even homes and vehicles can be seized and NEVER returned even with NO conviction. The ACLU link documents a successful case against unfair and abusive enforcement.

http://www.cato.org/events/policing-profit-abuse-civil-asset-forfeiture

https://www.aclu.org/blog/criminal-law-reform-racial-justice/settlement-means-no-more-highway-robbery-tenaha-texas


56 posted on 03/21/2015 12:54:57 PM PDT by gleeaikin
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To: moehoward; All

What the he** are “untaxed loosies?”


57 posted on 03/21/2015 1:01:25 PM PDT by gleeaikin
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To: gleeaikin

In poor urban areas, people sell individual cigarettes, call them “loosies” because they’re not in a pack.


58 posted on 03/21/2015 1:03:58 PM PDT by RegulatorCountry
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To: gleeaikin

Again without probable cause of a crime, a government search or seizure is “unreasonable” and violates the 4th Amendment, so a “civil” seizure by the government (no crime involved) is per-se illegal and unconstitutional.

People need to learn the Constitution and start standing up for their rights. Good for New Mexico. To reestablish freedom and the Constitution as the supreme law of the land, states need to start nullifying unconstitutional federal acts.

If the injustice is being perpetrated by the state, people need to see that either the state Constitution is enforced or amend the state Constitution


59 posted on 03/21/2015 1:11:05 PM PDT by PapaNew (The grace of God & freedom always win the debate in the forum of ideas over unjust law & government)
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To: bgill

I think of it as being fallen as opposed to be upside down. If there isn’t a law against it or if there is a loophole in the law, some will do it. This is a blatant case of coveting someone’s goods.


60 posted on 03/21/2015 2:32:40 PM PDT by huldah1776
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