The road to Hell is paved etc....

[Just Looking]

Asset forfeiture is a disputed practice that allows law enforcement officials to permanently take money and goods from individuals suspected of crime. There is little disagreement among lawmakers, authorities and criminal justice reformers that “no criminal should be allowed to keep the proceeds of their crime.” But in many cases, neither a criminal conviction nor even a criminal charge is necessary — under forfeiture laws in most states and at the federal level, mere suspicion of wrongdoing is enough to allow police to seize items permanently.

Additionally, many states allow law enforcement officers to keep cash that they seize, creating what critics characterize as a profit motive. The practice is widespread: in 2014, federal law enforcement officers took more property from citizens than burglars did. State and local authorities seized untold millions more.

The practice is ripe for abuse. In one case in 2016, Oklahoma police seized $53,000 owned by a Christian band, an orphanage and a church after stopping a man on a highway for a broken taillight. A few years earlier, a Michigan drug task force raided the home of a self-described “soccer mom,” suspecting she was not in compliance with the state's medical marijuana law. They proceeded to take “every belonging” from the family, including tools, a bicycle and her daughter's birthday money.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/jeff-se...ailsignout

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[Mystic Wanderer]

Hmm...  now, that's just not right!    

Sounds like the mafia has infiltrated the courts/police.  Of course, this happened under the Obama administration.  I hope Trump will hold any 'dirty cops' accountable, and if any laws need to be changed in regard to taking one's things, it needs to change to where nothing is taken until the person is found guilty.  Even then, they should leave them something, but not anything that was gained in committing the crime.  

Police used seized items to auction off to make money for their units/stations.  I suppose this is how those Christmas funds and parties get paid for too.
Still... I keep getting those calls from cops asking for donations.

[DuckforcoveR]

I read this yesterday and was just FUMING afterwards. Especially this part:

The practice is widespread: in 2014, federal law enforcement officers took more property from citizens than burglars did. State and local authorities seized untold millions more.

Pitchforks!

[guohua]

This is a terrible Law when used like it has been, not everyone is a Criminal but with this Law it doesn't Matter, just the Intent or Suspension of Criminal Activity.

Civil asset forfeiture is the process through which law enforcement can seize property suspected of being connected to criminal activity. While law enforcement insists the forfeiture is a means to go after the profits of illicit activity, including the drug trade, there are many examples of misguided law enforcement permanently seizing the property of innocent people like Russ Caswell or simply going after money rather than drugs.


The owner of the property seized by law enforcement doesn’t have to be arrested or convicted of a crime — or even charged with a crime. Forfeiture also brings with it a legal fiction, as court proceedings are brought against the property, not the property owner. This is why forfeiture cases come with unusual case names such as United States v. $124,700 in U.S. Currency, United States v. Approximately 64,695 Pounds of Shark Fins, and Texas v. One Gold Crucifix.

Source

By The Way,,,,,, @"Just Looking"  It is Very Nice To See You Again.  :minusculehi: