Attorney General Jeff Sessions recently ordered the Justice Department to increase the use of civil asset forfeiture, thus once again endorsing an unconstitutional, authoritarian, and increasingly unpopular policy.
Civil asset forfeiture, which should be called civil asset theft, is the practice of seizing property believed to be involved in a crime. The government keeps the property even if it never convicts, or even charges, the owner of the property.
Police can even use civil asset theft to steal from people whose property was used in criminal activity without the owners’ knowledge. Some have even lost their homes because a renter or houseguest was dealing drugs on the premises behind the owners’ backs.
Civil asset theft is a multi-billion dollar a year moneymaker for all levels of government. Police and prosecutors receive more than their “fair share” of the loot. According to a 2016 study by the Institute for Justice, 43 states allow police and prosecutors to keep at least half of the loot they got from civil asset theft.
Obviously, this gives police an incentive to aggressively use civil asset theft, even against those who are not even tangentially involved in a crime. For example, police in Tenaha, Texas literally engaged in highway robbery — seizing cash and other items from innocent motorists — while police in Detroit once seized every car in an art institute’s parking lot. The official justification for that seizure was that the cars belonged to attendees at an event for which the institute had failed to get a liquor license.
The Tenaha police are not the only ones targeting those carrying large sums of cash. Anyone traveling with “too much” cash runs the risk of having it stolen by a police officer, since carrying large amounts of cash is treated as evidence of involvement in criminal activity.
Civil asset theft also provides an easy way for the IRS to squeeze more money from the American taxpayer. As the growing federal debt increases the pressure to increase tax collections without raising tax rates, the IRS will likely ramp up its use of civil asset forfeiture.
Growing opposition to the legalized theft called civil asset forfeiture has led 24 states to pass laws limiting its use. Sadly, but not surprisingly, Attorney General Jeff Sessions is out of step with this growing consensus. After all, Sessions is a cheerleader for the drug war, and civil asset theft came into common usage as a tool in the drug war.
President Trump could do the American people a favor by naming a new attorney general who opposes police state policies like the drug war and police state tactics like civil asset theft.
CAF pisses me off; Fucking Gov’t.
Need a uplift? Here it is
Drama in the Serengeti
A couple on an African Safari witnessed a small antelope being chased down by a cheetah.
While the kill was about to happen before their eyes, the husband casually remarked, I’ll bet the antelope gets away.”
The wife answered, “If that antelope survives this one, I’ll give you sex every day for the rest of your life.”
The deadly chase was recorded.
18 second video.
Link here…..https://youtube.com/watch?v=DYDIwOnXNc8%3Frel%3D0
Thanks for the uplift…I really needed a good chuckle.
Ron Paul is a blind man. There is a war coming, against the people who robbed our country. The only way that wrong gets righted is through a strong, righteous federal government. The swindlers want nothing more than to keep the loot. Their footsoldiers, like Dr Paul, will work overtime to brainwash you into believing that if they don’t get to keep the loot, we don’t have freedom. “Be a sucker. I’m Ron Paul, and I approved this message.”
Think about this. All Sessions did was reverse a rule put in place by eric holder. Yes, that eric holder, keeper of the flame of liberty and justice for all. White collar criminal enabler extraordinaire. You might wonder why you’ve read 100 essays in the last month about this subject. Again, full court press by the real thieves to get the prostitute media to shill for them. Nice going, Ron.
Civil asset forfeiture was created by Congress and needs to be ended by Congress.
Address your objections to it there, you may or may not be heard but that is the only place anything can be done about it.
There are laws against this type of thing — where have the courts been on this issue?
1. The takings clause of the fifth amendment
2. Theft by unlawful taking
3. Civil actions to enforce property laws
Again, where are the courts on this issue?
The Courts, all the way up to the Supremes, have supported it.
At least on the Federal level, I think some States have restricted it.
The confiscation of private property without due process is against the law of the land . Sadly those charged to protect and defend the law of the land now are gainfully compensated for supporting the fortiture of private property . Sounds like a conflict of intrest of which truely honorable people would recuse themselves . So judges prosecutors and law enforcement either have made huge errors in judgement or they are not to be trusted ?? Never answer questions without a good attorney present . One statement to any government official . Am I being detained or am I free to go ! Any response other than you are free to go probably means you need an attorney “TIME TO SHUT UP”
As for Sessions , he is just a policy wonk using the drug war as some half assed excuse to further his career . Tell me truly in all the wars our country is fighting drugs poverty , terror how much real success do we get for bankrupting the nation and its people ?
There is an account balance I would like to see !