Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Federal Appeals Court Slams FBI’s Actions In Security Deposit Box Raid
Institute for Justice ^ | January 23, 2024 | Andrew Wimer ·

Posted on 01/24/2024 6:49:34 PM PST by george76

Ninth Circuit panel unanimously orders FBI to destroy records it created during searches of US Private Vaults boxes..

PASADENA, Calif.—This morning, a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel unanimously ruled against the government in a long-running class action lawsuit from the Institute for Justice (IJ) on behalf of people who rented security deposit boxes at US Private Vaults. The decision slammed the FBI for overstepping its authority when it opened up hundreds of renters’ boxes, conducted criminal searches of them all, and attempted to permanently keep everything in the boxes worth more than $5,000, all without charging any box renter with a crime.

“Today’s opinion draws a line in the sand, to ensure something like this never happens again,” said IJ Senior Attorney Rob Johnson. “If this had come out the other way, the government could have exported this raid as a model across the country. Now, the government is on notice its actions violated the Fourth Amendment.”

Judge Milan D. Smith, writing for the court, likened the FBI’s actions to the abuses that motivated the Bill of Rights: “[T]he government failed to explain why applying the inventory exception to this case would not open the door to the kinds of ‘writs of assistance’ the British authorities used prior to the Founding to conduct limitless searches of an individual’s personal belongings. It was those very abuses of power, after all, that led to adoption of the Fourth Amendment in the first place.”

“We knew that what the FBI did to us and so many others was wrong and today’s decision is a validation,” said Jennifer Snitko. “It took courage for Paul and I to be among the first people to stand up publicly and call out the government but we are proud to have fought for our rights. This is a good day for our country and the principle that the government’s power to search our property has limits.”

For years, the FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ) insisted that they did nothing wrong at US Private Vaults. Even though the warrant authorizing the raid only permitted the FBI to open boxes to identify their owners and safeguard the contents, agents rummaged through hundreds of boxes, ran currency they found in front of drug sniffing dogs, and made copies of people’s most personal records. The DOJ then filed a massive administrative forfeiture claim to take more than $100 million in cash and other valuables, again, without charging any individual with a crime.

“The government promised the magistrate that it would not conduct a criminal search or seizure of the boxes,” said IJ Senior Attorney Robert Frommer. “After years of litigation, today’s opinion shows that not to be true. The government lied to justify its forfeiture scheme, and in the end the lie was its undoing.”


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: armedrobbery; assetforfeiture; civil; civilforfeiture; civilrights; confiscation; constitution; doj; donutwatch; fbi; forfeiture; fourthamendment; pirates; raid; roadpirates; safedeposit; safedepositbox; safedepositboxes; theft; usprivatevaults; violation; warrant
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-58 next last

1 posted on 01/24/2024 6:49:34 PM PST by george76
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: george76

The fbi stole money. and was not prosecuted.


2 posted on 01/24/2024 6:53:21 PM PST by I want the USA back (Delusionary people should not be given power over normal people.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: george76

I thought this was over. Unsettling that it continues…


3 posted on 01/24/2024 6:53:48 PM PST by griswold3 (Truth, Beauty and Goodness. )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: griswold3

The FBI took $86 million from safe deposit boxes. An appeals court will decide if that is constitutional.. December 7, 2023

https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/4202072/posts


4 posted on 01/24/2024 6:56:20 PM PST by george76 (Ward Churchill : Fake Indian, Fake Scholarship, and Fake Art)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: george76

I wonder about people who keep coin collections worth more than$5k


5 posted on 01/24/2024 6:56:47 PM PST by BigEdLB (Let’s go Brandon!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: george76

I thought they returned it all?


6 posted on 01/24/2024 6:57:12 PM PST by griswold3 (Truth, Beauty and Goodness. )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: I want the USA back

I’m sure it happened a lot—

It was just there. All that money. And the stupid American people pay us a pittance while the criminals make millions.
Just reach out, reach our hands out and grab some.


7 posted on 01/24/2024 6:57:15 PM PST by frank ballenger (There's a battle outside and it's raging. It'll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: griswold3

No ... Forfeiture generated more than $45.7 billion in revenue for the federal government alone between 2000 and 2019


8 posted on 01/24/2024 6:59:12 PM PST by george76 (Ward Churchill : Fake Indian, Fake Scholarship, and Fake Art)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: I want the USA back

Has there ever been a better time for mass civil disobedience by jury nullification when FBI and police state agencies present evidence in court?
They will not stop until they start losing cases.
We also must create a campaign to revoke qualified immunity for federal agents, judges and prosecutors.


9 posted on 01/24/2024 7:01:08 PM PST by grumpygresh (Civil disobedience by non-compliance; jury and state nullification. )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: george76

The FBI are criminals.


10 posted on 01/24/2024 7:02:24 PM PST by Uncle Miltie (Objective: Permanently break the will of the population to ever wage war again.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: griswold3

Some of it was “lost” and there are separate lawsuits for that. They failed to video the opening and inventory of the boxes.


11 posted on 01/24/2024 7:03:34 PM PST by gunnut
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: george76

Well I’m convinced that I will not have a bank box ever again.


12 posted on 01/24/2024 7:07:03 PM PST by WVNan (Only Trump. Never any other president. never ever again.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: george76

“ No ... Forfeiture generated more than $45.7 billion in revenue for the federal government alone between 2000 and 2019”
****************************************************

Today’s FBI makes the Mafia in its glory days look like a bunch of pikers. The FBI is now, IN LARGE MEASURE, an organized criminal enterprise.


13 posted on 01/24/2024 7:07:18 PM PST by House Atreides (I’m now ULTRA-MAGA. -PRO-MA)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: griswold3

NFW. This is the FBI here.


14 posted on 01/24/2024 7:11:33 PM PST by coloradan (They're not the mainstream media, they're the gaslight media. It's what they do. )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: george76

Sounds like they struck it rich. Too bad they can’t just keep it all. Or will they.


15 posted on 01/24/2024 7:13:20 PM PST by hinckley buzzard ( Resist the narrative. )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: george76

The agents responsible should be summarily shot. Period.

Pour encouragez les qutres.


16 posted on 01/24/2024 7:13:38 PM PST by Don W (When blacks riot, neighborhoods and cities burn. When whites riot, nations and continents burn)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: george76

Any bets that nothing was stolen by the FBI? Any bets that the conversation behind closed doors wasn’t, No F’n Judge is gonna order us like that. And any bets that the information gathered was destroyed? Pete Strzok is the face and mind of the FBI.


17 posted on 01/24/2024 7:18:37 PM PST by healy61 (.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: I want the USA back

Wow. I remembered hearing about this and was astonished. And here we are.

“Destroy the files you created, and don’t do it again.”

After how many years now?

Plus, who here thinks they won’t make copies to keep?


18 posted on 01/24/2024 7:20:04 PM PST by rlmorel ("The stigma for being wrong is gone, as long as you're wrong for the right side." (Clarice Feldman))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: george76
Ninth Circuit panel unanimously orders FBI to destroy records it created during searches of US Private Vaults boxes

The black-robed fossils don't seem to understand that the records are NEVER going away, once they enter the system.

And the feds are going to keep watching the ones they tried to bring criminal charges against, due to the contents of their safe deposit boxes.

Mortal wound to the Fourth Amendment.

19 posted on 01/24/2024 7:21:03 PM PST by kiryandil (Rocco is roccking again!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: rlmorel

my post #19: “The black-robed fossils don’t seem to understand that the records are NEVER going away, once they enter the system.”


20 posted on 01/24/2024 7:21:40 PM PST by kiryandil (Rocco is roccking again!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-58 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson