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Asset forfeiture is one of the worst abuses of power by our government today. There are many instances of innocent people having their assets stolen and their lives ruined by government abuse of asset forfeiture powers.
Thank you Judge Browning !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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A federal judge has ruled that Albuquerque's civil asset forfeiture program violated residents' due process rights by forcing them to prove their innocence to retrieve their cars. Under civil forfeiture laws, police can seize property suspected of being connected to criminal activity, even if the owner isn't charged with a crime.
The city of Albuquerque "has an unconstitutional institutional incentive to prosecute forfeiture cases, because, in practice, the forfeiture program sets its own budget and can spend, without meaningful oversight, all of the excess funds it raises from previous years," U.S. District Judge James O. Browning wrote in an order filed Saturday. "Thus, there is a 'realistic possibility' that forfeiture officials' judgment 'will be distorted by the prospect of institutional gain'—the more revenues they raise, the more revenues they can spend."
I've often wondered: Do the cops in these Civil Forfeiture cases, first get a warrant listing what is to be searched and what items (including $$$) will be seized? Issued by a judge?
Geez, what does that say about the people of that city too? before this ruling, the people just 'tolerated' police doing this?!!!
'The people' should have stepped in long before a court hearing was needed, and shut this down.
It reminds me of another discussion I was in recently, in cases like this, being 'patriotic' or a 'good citizen' would be refusing to comply with police, or resisting their orders/ authority, THAT would have been the right and patriotic thing to do when they are abusing their authority to this degree, after all, its not exactly patriotic or 'american' to just go along with something that is unconstitutional, or because standing up to it, may be somewhat inconvenient!!
Asset forfeiture is one of the worst abuses of power by our government today. There are many instances of innocent people having their assets stolen and their lives ruined by government abuse of asset forfeiture powers.
Thank you Judge Browning !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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A federal judge has ruled that Albuquerque's civil asset forfeiture program violated residents' due process rights by forcing them to prove their innocence to retrieve their cars. Under civil forfeiture laws, police can seize property suspected of being connected to criminal activity, even if the owner isn't charged with a crime.
The city of Albuquerque "has an unconstitutional institutional incentive to prosecute forfeiture cases, because, in practice, the forfeiture program sets its own budget and can spend, without meaningful oversight, all of the excess funds it raises from previous years," U.S. District Judge James O. Browning wrote in an order filed Saturday. "Thus, there is a 'realistic possibility' that forfeiture officials' judgment 'will be distorted by the prospect of institutional gain'—the more revenues they raise, the more revenues they can spend."
Excellent. Hopefully this catches on all across the nation, eventually.
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