Posted on 09/03/2017 8:40:12 AM PDT by Rusty0604
Next week, the House of Representatives will consider an appropriations bill,.... Some members, Republican and Democratic alike, have submitted amendment to the bill that would defund the directive issued by Attorney General Jeff Sessions to ramp up the use of civil asset forfeiture.
Sessions is a vocal advocate of civil asset forfeiture, the process by which local law enforcement can permanently seize property or money that is suspected to have a connection to a crime.
During an April 2015 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, then-Sen. Sessions was less than sympathetic toward a witness, Russ Caswell, whose hotel was wrongly seized when local law enforcement claimed that it had facilitated illicit activity.
Sessions read from letters from law enforcement officials in support of forfeiture while addressing Caswell and defending the pernicious practice, which is often abused. He downplayed the instances in which the legitimately owned property of innocent people — who were never arrested, charged or convicted of any wrongdoing — was seized by law enforcement, who, in most states and at the federal level, can keep all or part of the proceeds from forfeiture.
Sessions was criticized for the directive. “Back in May I encouraged the Department of Justice to review its policies on civil asset forfeiture in light of increasing indications from the Supreme Court that this practice is constitutionally suspect,” said Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah). “Instead of revising forfeiture practices in a manner to better protect Americans’ due process rights, the DOJ seems determined to lose in court before it changes its policies...”
Similarly, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) noted that adoptive seizures “have created perverse incentives in the past that jeopardized the rights of law abiding citizens.”
Thankfully, four amendments have been submitted to the House Rules Committee for consideration that would defund Sessions’ directive.
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
Have a couple thousand in cash and are en route to purchase a used car from a private person? Have the bad luck of being stopped for speeding and the cop says you look suspicious, maybe even because you told him where you were going? Too bad, they can take your money because drug deals are done in cash.
“oh yes the “leadership” is leading, just not in the direction most freepers want to go”
Think of a pond on a farm and a large rope and 535 legislators milling around. 100% of Dem’s line up on The Left side of the rope and pick it up. What do 40% of the pubsters do? Well, in round numbers they sneak over and pick up the rope with the democrats...................THUS, we are all pulled in that direction!
It’s the states that are working on their own to reduce these kinds of “forfeiture”. Go about halfway down the article.
Forget defunding.
They all - federal civil asset forfeitures - need to be handcuffed by the law to require no forfeiture except as ordered by a court as a result of a court proceeding where a defendant has all the rights as in any “criminal” proceeding.
The same legal change could allow for court appointed trustees of assets, to be held and managed by the trustee - not the DOJ - pending the court hearing where the case of the DOJ must be proven “beyond a reasonable doubt”, and the defendant has the right to mount their defense and if needed make counter claims.
Make the DOJ go to court or no forfeiture.
>If the activist courts were truly following the Constitution
You misspelled G-O-V-T (courts only being one facet).
As have been noted, IMO, Sessions’ willingness to promote govt over the People should have disqualified him from seeking the position of AG. His immediate, after-approval, recusal should have been grounds for firing.
Not like there’s ever a party in full control of the seats of power interested in the People anyway...
The only thing I like that Sessions does that I appreciate is going after illegals. Maybe move him to ICE. But then Trump needs an AG that will enforce immigration law along with other issues, and get rid of Obama’s attorneys in the DOJ.
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The only thing I like that Sessions does that I appreciate is going after illegals. Maybe move him to ICE. But then Trump needs an AG that will enforce immigration law along with other issues, and get rid of Obama’s attorneys in the DOJ.
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Sorry, I haven’t heard/read bumpkins since ‘rounding up ~400 illegals’ a couple of months ago.
The fear of ‘doing something’, IMO, is the only thing stemming the flow....it sure isn’t going after sanctuary cities/govt/mayors/etc., MASS deportations (how ‘bout the 40k Zero illegally gave Green Cards to?) or the like.
Sessions is asleep at the wheel, just another swamp resident.
I really think it was the horrible choice of bringing in the RNC by Trump and allowing them a voice in *ANYTHING*.
,,,,,,, and I thought they were still on vacation .
I just know there is some that aren’t and one some of them have some really nasty ones like Tennessee.
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