civil asset forfeiture

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Anton Sherwood <bronto () pobox com>
Date: August 23, 2006 12:05:09 AM EDT
To: dave () farber net, Andreas Ramos <andreas () andreas com>,  
vgill () vijaygill com
Subject: civil asset forfeiture

> From: Andreas Ramos <andreas () andreas com>
> Date: August 22, 2006 2:15:44 AM EDT

> If local cops seize "drug assets", the forfeiture laws let the money
> go to them. So local cops have an incentive to seize "assets". This  
> includes houses, cars, boats, cash, etc.
> Does it have to be drug assets? Well, to get it back, you have to
> prove that it is not drug related. That's federal court, and it can
> cost $50,000 or more in legal fees. . . .

Plus a deposit of some fraction of the value in question.  I heard of  
one case where someone got his airplane back, found it had been  
ruined by neglect, and was billed for a storage fee.

It's not only federal, and it's not only drugs: it's any alleged  
criminal use of the property (by anyone).  In one famous case the  
defendant was a car that was used to pick up prostitutes.  The car  
belonged to a married couple; the wife litigated on the grounds that  
she shouldn't be punished (lose her half of the car) for her  
husband's offense.  She lost 5-4 at the Supreme Court in 1996.

The property itself is the defendant in such cases, and since it's  
not a citizen it enjoys no presumption of innocence.

The Pittsburgh Press ran a famous series on the subject in 1991;
the Web seems to have multiple copies.

--
Anton Sherwood, http://www.ogre.nu/
"How'd ya like to climb this high *without* no mountain?" --Porky Pine


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