Posted on 01/08/2020 5:30:51 PM PST by nickcarraway
>>... a pair of handcuffs that belonged to a female police officer who previously had a long-term relationship with Melendez.<<
The plot kinkens.
Not a very convincing story.
Sounds like the lawyers are just mad they can’t get at the money.
Maybe there’s more to the case.
Glad they didn’t let him go at least.
Civil forfeiture before conviction is wrong so the court got it right.
Sounds like they need to change the law so that the forfeiture occurs on conviction with the money held as evidence like the gun, ammo and drugs.
Civil forfeiture before conviction is wrong so the court got it right.
Sounds like they need to change the law so that the forfeiture occurs on conviction with the money held as evidence like the gun, ammo and drugs.
There is no "choosing between."
“...using a common but little-understood practice called civil asset forfeiture...”
For anyone other than government thugs it’s called theft.
This ruling will cheer many here.
Though I find it funny that a dope dealing moron with no means of support can count on getting his huge stacks back because “civil forfeiture is bad”.
There is a big difference between proving in court that the money was proceeds from crime and then taking it and just taking it before conviction.
You should know that in this country, we're innocent until proven guilty.
*** Though I find it funny that a dope dealing moron with no means of support can count on getting his huge stacks back because civil forfeiture is bad. ***
$2900 is huge stacks?
Sir, its good to see you again.
It feels like many years have passed.
In court papers, Melendez said the money police seized was legitimate and came from a prison account that belonged to him while serving time for unrelated crimes. The Hudson County Prosecutors Office used that statement in Melendezs criminal case as part of their effort to prove the drugs and weapons seized from the same bedroom as the money also belonged to him. [...] The high courts ruling effectively bans prosecutors from using such a tactic in the future. But the ruling also found that because of other evidence against Melendez, the error was harmless in his case.
I completely agree.
There are already criminal forfeiture laws - but civil forfeiture means easier swag for government thieves.
Around the country, people driving are pulled over and discovered with various amounts of cash.
The police confiscate the money under shady rules about suspicion.
They keep the money. Most people can’t afford to fight over it.
“Civil forfeiture before conviction is wrong so the court got it right.......”Sounds like they need to change the law so that the forfeiture occurs on conviction with the money held as evidence like the gun, ammo and drugs.”
The changes in law need to go further than you suggest.
Mere possession of the money does not prove how the money was obtained; possession does not prove the money was not obtained in any other, in any “legitimate” way. It is not a mere question of whether or not the defendants drug dealing made him any money. It is a question of needing to PROVE the source of the money found.
But yes, backing up to your point, there should be NO “civil asset forfeiture” (a) when there has been no conviction of any crime, and FURTHER, (b) without a full court proceeding, with full defense of the defendant, on the additional question of the forfeiture itself. FURTHER, the holding of any assets to be waiting that outcome must be assigned by the court, with a court assigned private bank account established for it, NOT “held in trust” by the police or prosecutors (they have not yet proven they are entitled to it).
Police and prosecutors all over the country are abusing “civil asset forfeiture” for the funding of their departments.
Upon conviction, no problem; drug money should be taken. But not until conviction; escrow it until then.
I wonder how how many cases of cash forfeiture are actually bribes.
Take the guy’s $20K, then send him on his way. What better way to disguise a payoff.
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