Posted on 08/26/2014 10:41:36 AM PDT by george76
Chris Sourovelis has never had any trouble with the law or been accused of any crime. But that hasnt stopped the City of Philadelphia from trying to take his home.
The Sourouvelis family, along with thousands of others in Philadelphia, is living a Kafkaesque nightmare: Their property is considered guilty; they must prove their innocence and the very prosecutors theyre fighting can profit from their misery. Now the Institute for Justice has filed a major class-action lawsuit to end these abuses of power.
Back in March, Chriss son was caught selling $40 worth of drugs outside of the home. With no previous arrests or a prior record, a court ordered him to attend rehab. But the very day Sourovelis was driving his son to begin treatment, he got a frantic call from his wife. Without any prior notice, police evicted the Sourovelises and seized the house, using a little-known law known as civil forfeiture.
...
Under civil forfeiture, property owners do not have to be convicted of a crime, or even charged with one, to permanently lose their property. Instead, the government can forfeit a property if its found to facilitate a crime, no matter how tenuous the connection. So rather than sue the owner, in civil forfeiture proceedings, the government sues the property itself,
...
the owners who want to defend themselves and retrieve their seized property must venture to the Orwellian-sounding Courtroom 478. Despite its name, there are neither judges nor juries in Courtroom 478. Instead, there are only assistant district attorneys and a scheduler, who deal with up to 80 forfeiture cases in a single day.
With the prosecutors running this kangaroo court, the DAs Office clearly wields enormous power.
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
Thanks for that info-——astonishing.
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“To repeal a bad law,enforce it rigidity”..Abe Lincoln (iirc)
The IRS and state tax boards are having a field day because of all the “lost” data at the IRS.
Bryan and I got a notice saying that they were confused about our amended tax return.
We have never, in 35 years, submitted an amended tax form. We let them know that, and
the fact that we use TurboTax, and they just blew away like smoke in a tornado.
It was a fishing expedition, and all they have is the worm they used as bait as their reward.
The WOD was a HUGE mistake and an abject failure.
Talk about making matters worse...
Who are the people that actually serve and enforce these eviction actions?? Do they just do this mindlessly and without question?
Stay out the Bushes.
I was just talking to someone about this yesterday.
I do not think the WOD has been a failure at all. Just look at all the power and money the police state has stolen for itself in its name. From their point of view, it's been an astounding success, from the supreme court right on down to the shakedown tribunals mentioned in the article. Police have vastly expanded both their powers and immunities. Lots of government thugs at all levels are getting rich.
From thier perspective, what's not to love about it?
Hmmmm....if this is "earning" then I seriously misunderstood my Daddy when he said I should earn money to take care of my needs. It came across as if I were supposed to do something that took effort and produced new value, for which someone would trade money of their own free will. If this is what "earning" means, I guess I should get a gun and go out and earn some. Sheesh, to think I've been doing it the hard way for so many years! D'oh!
The city of brotherly love. Why would anyone live there?
“I wonder which political party runs Philadelphia and has for decades...”
Make no mistake, this is a crime against freedom that crosses political lines. And the Law and Order members of FR still won’t stand against the abuse of our JustUs system. Make no mistake, LE is just as guilty as the government. Many target this as a source of revenue.
“I would have no problem with forfeiture if it only applied:
1) To the property of individuals or groups actually found guilty of a crime, and”
You don’t even HAVE to be found guilty of a crime. All the time, they hit up people and never even bother to charge them. There is no day in court where the government has to prove its case against you to a jury of your peers.
I would have no problem with forfeiture if it only applied:
1) To the property of individuals or groups actually found guilty of a crime, and
2) To property that was actually instrumental in the commission of the crime (for example, a vehicle used for smuggling, but not one where the owner is merely caught for possession), or purchased from the proceeds of crime.
Your current asset forfeiture laws are clearly not compatible with a country that claims to believe in freedom, property rights, and the due process of law.
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I have a huge amount of problem with forfeiture. If someone does a crime, charge them, convict them and make them serve their time and or pay the fine. But taking stuff from people like this, it smacks of an out of control government.
When I see cops traveling in late model cars I realize that someone had their stuff taken by the government at gunpoint. If it can happen to them it can happen to anyone.
The only thing that I find strange is that the article describes asset forfeiture as being something that isn’t generally known about. Have people not been paying attention? I’ve been coming here for a long time, but I knew about it before I came here. I’m pretty sure PBS’s Frontline has done at least one story about it, if not more.
The only thing that I find strange is that the article describes asset forfeiture as being something that isnt generally known about. Have people not been paying attention? Ive been coming here for a long time, but I knew about it before I came here. Im pretty sure PBSs Frontline has done at least one story about it, if not more
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I don’t think it is widely understood. I remember when the local police were showing off the Corvettes that the state DEA confiscated in the seventies and eighties. It was considered cool and no one really thought it through. Never did anyone raise a voice or question this.
This does not just happen in Philadelphia and it has been the law for more than twenty years.
When we lived in Southern CA, a young couple moved into a house next door. The young couple were drug dealers and were worried about losing the house if they got busted because the house was in his grandmother’s name.
So, to prevent the house being taken, they stored the drugs in a pipe in the front lawn with a guard dog chained to keep watch. Neighbors complained but nothing was done until someone’s dog got too close to the guard dog. One of the neighbors ran out with a piece of a two by four and gave the guard dog a good wack in the head.
Anyway, the police can’t seize the property unless the property, itself was being used to sell drugs. The front lawn of the house makes it questionable.
Let me know what you decide. We are planning on Michigan.
Hmmmm.... I wouldn’t have expected Michigan to be high on the list but perhaps up in the UP or being on Drummond Island would work.
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