Did you know police now have the legal power to confiscate anything and everything that you own. Without trial

I would like to see the actual law instead of a blog entry before I would believe something like that.

That blog is what used to be called yellow journalism.

It is not completely fact based, and is less than credible.

This is complete propaganda.

I can tell you that the Federal And state's Forfeiture Act do not work the way that this publication say.

In all reality, there must be evidence of an ongoing criminal enterprise to seize assets. Or, if you are stopped and you have felony narcotics in your car, it could be subject to forfeiture.

And once seized, you are afforded the right to a civil forfeiture hearing before a judge.

Simply stated, forfeiture is the legal process by which the ownership of property -- houses, cars, airplanes, cash, bank accounts, etc. -- is non-consensually transferred from its owner to the government. The rationale for the transfer is that the property -- not the owner -- has done something wrong. Once the property is guilty of a crime, then the government is authorized to forfeit it.

The conceptual underpinnings of civil forfeiture can be traced back to ancient Roman and medieval English law, both of which made objects used to violate the law subject to forfeiture to the sovereign. See United States v. 785 St. Nicholas Ave., 983 F.2d 396, 401-02 (2d Cir. 1992). United States laws providing for official seizure of property used in criminal activity perpetuate the legal fiction that "property used in violation of law was itself the wrongdoer that must be held to account for the harms it had caused." United States v. 92 Buena Vista Avenue, 113 S. Ct. 1126, 1135 (1993). Because the property, or res, is considered the wrongdoer, it is regarded as the actual party to in rem forfeiture proceedings.

Civil forfeiture has recently gained new life as an instrument of federal law enforcement, particularly as a weapon in the "war on drugs". As part of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, congress strengthened civil forfeiture as a means of confiscating illegal substances and the means by which they are manufactured and distributed. Pub. L. No. 91-513, 84 Stat. 1276 (1970), codified at 21 U.S.C. ss. 881-896. In 1978 congress amended the act to authorize the seizure and forfeiture of the proceeds of illegal drug transactions as well. The statute provides for the forfeiture of "all moneys, negotiable instruments, securities, or other things of value furnished or intended to be furnished by any person in exchange for a controlled substance [as well as] all proceeds traceable to such an exchange." Pub. L. No. 95-633, 92 Stat. 3777 (1978), codified at 21 U.S.C. @ 881(a)(6).

Oh, and before you believe this trash that people are routinely stopped and 'robbed' of their cash, let me link you the law and you can read up on it!

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?Mode...

Read up on it and also the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?Stat...

That article says it is from 1993. Also, it gives no info on where they got their info. Just random names and stories. The govt can seize your stuff if you bought it with money made illegally, but I doubt that they take your money from your wallet during a traffic stop. That article sounds like some crazy anti-govt type rambling about nothing. I would not believe a word of that story.

Right. You are taking this out of context. The seizures apply to property used in drug-related incidents. This does not mean the police can just walk into your house and start making off with furniture, TV sets, dishes, clothes for no reaon other than they want these things for their personal use. What it means is if you are stopped while driving and they find 10 pounds of cocaine in the car then they can seize the vehicle. This is nothing new, it's part of enforcement action against drug smugglers, drug sellers and others involved in illegal drug activity. I think it's a good idea, as drug users create a considerable expense for the rest of us and they deserve to lose their stuff as a form of cempensation to everyone else.

How do drug users cause an expense for everyone else? Easy. They turn to crime to get money for drugs. One favorite area is breaking into cars and stealing radios. They also burglarize houses and steal property to sell to get drugs. I have had a car broken into 9 times and the radio stolen, which was covered by insurance, so you see insurance rates are affected by drug users, who driving while stoned also run head-on into innocent drivers. The expense is horrific, and you could not confiscate enough from drug users to even the score.

Just look at the Federal forfeiture laws and read between the lines of whats written. You will then know how the government can do what it does and get away with it.

Koko -- IT'S WITHOUT A TRIAL!!!

Don't you understand that's unjust? Just because it's routine doesn't mean it's RIGHT. The whole forfeiture thing is bull - NO due process! If there's no trial and conviction, it's just flat-out wrong. Maybe that blog is unreliable, but there ARE cases on record of people being ACQUITTED of crimes and STILL not being able to get their property back.

Rosa, your trouble is because (I'm betting) you're either minority, or a poor white.

In a country ruled by the rich, minorities and poor whites are always going to get the short end of the stick.

Bottom line, don't use, sell or manufacture drugs and you get to keep your stuff and your freedom.

Cool. I need to start making a list of things that I want.

I wish my boss would have told me about this bogus law years ago. Maybe I should show him someone's blog entry, that should convince him that we can take whatever we want.

No but doesn't suprise me. It never fails I get harrassed by police here in Niagara Falls, NY at least once a year. I wonder why????:)