Are you guilty until proven innocent?
May 25th 2010 15:49
"Under civil forfeiture, police and prosecutors can seize your car or other property, sell it and use the proceeds to fund agency budgets, all without so much as charging you with a crime. Unlike criminal forfeiture, where property is taken after its owner has been found guilty in a court of law, with civil forfeiture, owners need not be charged with or convicted of a crime to lose homes, cars, cash or other property. Americans are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty, but civil forfeiture turns that principle on its head." - The Institute For Justice, "Policing For Profits"
Scary to think about, isn't it? The government doesn't have to prove their claim in court under the standard of 'Beyond a reasonable doubt'. Instead of 'innocent until proven guilty', the property owner must prove innocence at their own expense. Of course the funds necessary to pay for that defense are usually also confiscated. Police departments are becoming more dependent on forfeitures to pay for their budgets during these tough economic times. Instead of "protecting and serving", they are being pressured to investigate 'crimes' which provide the most opportunity to seize property and cash.
Just by looking suspicious or through a simple misunderstanding, you can lose your house, your car and your life savings! Civil asset forfeiture is a moral and constitutional outrage.
The Institute for Justice report 'Policing for Profits' reveals some troubling facts. 40% of law enforcement executives surveyed viewed civil forfeiture as a necessary budget supplement. There is very little oversight or accountability as to how the funds are used.
Now some states have passed laws to try to protect people, but the Federal Government has setup a way to circumvent these state laws called 'Equitable Sharing'. This allows local police to seize assets and turn them over to the federal government, thus bypassing state laws.
When that happens, the local police can still get as much as 80% of the property value back. The owner is then forced to fight in Federal court for their property, and instead of the government being forced to prove guilt, the owner is forced to prove innocence. The costs of challenging forfeiture are usually so great, that most forfeitures go unchallenged.
The Federal Government has cleared over $1 BILLION dollars from this legalized theft, and the real kicker is that over 80% of the property owners have never been charged with a crime!
Now, I have no problem with laws that require people convicted of heinous crimes to forfeit criminal profits and property they used in committing the crime, but taking property without even pressing criminal charges is naked theft!
The fifth and fourteenth amendments say that no person can lose their property without due process of law. Contact your representatives today and tell them to honor their oath to protect the constitution and repeal the federal forfeiture laws and put an end to equitable sharing!
Scary to think about, isn't it? The government doesn't have to prove their claim in court under the standard of 'Beyond a reasonable doubt'. Instead of 'innocent until proven guilty', the property owner must prove innocence at their own expense. Of course the funds necessary to pay for that defense are usually also confiscated. Police departments are becoming more dependent on forfeitures to pay for their budgets during these tough economic times. Instead of "protecting and serving", they are being pressured to investigate 'crimes' which provide the most opportunity to seize property and cash.
The Institute for Justice report 'Policing for Profits' reveals some troubling facts. 40% of law enforcement executives surveyed viewed civil forfeiture as a necessary budget supplement. There is very little oversight or accountability as to how the funds are used.
Now some states have passed laws to try to protect people, but the Federal Government has setup a way to circumvent these state laws called 'Equitable Sharing'. This allows local police to seize assets and turn them over to the federal government, thus bypassing state laws.
The Federal Government has cleared over $1 BILLION dollars from this legalized theft, and the real kicker is that over 80% of the property owners have never been charged with a crime!
Now, I have no problem with laws that require people convicted of heinous crimes to forfeit criminal profits and property they used in committing the crime, but taking property without even pressing criminal charges is naked theft!
The fifth and fourteenth amendments say that no person can lose their property without due process of law. Contact your representatives today and tell them to honor their oath to protect the constitution and repeal the federal forfeiture laws and put an end to equitable sharing!
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