Interesting People mailing list archives

IP: more on READ -- "Your Paper Please" say Ashcroft and Ellison, coming soon: Your Assets please?


From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2001 05:59:09 -0400


Date: Mon, 22 Oct 2001 19:00:03 -0700
From: Faisal Jawdat <faisal () faisal com>
To: farber () cis upenn edu


        A clarification on one point made:

Do you want your house seized because the Federal Internal Surveillance net found that your teenager is selling pot out of the basement.

        Historically, they haven't even needed this much.  Racial
        profiling has, in general, been sufficient, and the concept
        of "innocent until proven guilty" is thrown out the window.
        For example, a black man carrying cash in an airport was
        considered sufficient to seize assets, assets which were
        then given to law enforcement.  Think "fundraiser".

        Ten years ago, the Pittsburgh Press did a ten month
        investigation into asset forfeiture, its application,
        the people involved, and the outcomes.  It's long,
        frightening, and worth reading:

        http://256.com/gray/presume/

        -faisal



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