house Bill H.R. 1795
Should There be More Restrictions On Federal Civil Asset Forfeiture?
Argument in favor
Civil asset forfeiture violates property rights and due process. In its current form, it is improperly used as a way for police departments and the federal government to take private property to pad their bottom lines. There should be greater protections against this violation of civil rights.
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08/08/2018
I can think of no greater incentive for corruption than asset forfeiture. Abuse is rampant. Reform is badly needed
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08/08/2018
What needs to happen is the end of civil forfeiture. It has become the “bake sale” of the militarized police and law enforcement agencies.
08/08/2018
The government should have no right to take your private property.
Argument opposed
Civil asset forfeiture allows local and federal law enforcement to seize assets related to criminal enterprises. This is an important tool for defunding organized crime, taking back profits from criminal enterprises, and preventing new crimes from being committed.
08/08/2018
H.R. 1795 - AKA as the DUE PROCESS Act of 2017
I’m OPPOSED to the House bill H.R. 1795 -AKA as the DUE PROCESS Act of 2017 — which would amend the federal criminal code to revise provisions related to federal civil asset forfeiture cases. It’d raise the evidentiary standard in such cases from “preponderance of the evidence” to “clear and convincing evidence; provide for the appointment of counsel for indigent property owners who can’t hire their own attorney; and provide for the recovery of attorney’s fees in cases where the claimant prevails; while also adding notice requirements.
Civil asset forfeiture allows local and federal law enforcement to seize assets related to criminal enterprises. This is an important tool for defunding organized crime, taking back profits from criminal enterprises, and preventing new crimes from being committed.
8*8*18 ..... SneakyPete
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08/08/2018
I say, NAY: Whereas venal greed's existential demiurge is anathema to lawful material retrenchment of its autonomy, retrenchment of Civil Asset Forfeiture provisions would further embolden tyranny of the moneyed-few; laying waste to all hope of 14th Amendment prescriptions of equality thru Rule of Law.
I can think of no greater incentive for corruption than asset forfeiture. Abuse is rampant. Reform is badly needed
What needs to happen is the end of civil forfeiture. It has become the “bake sale” of the militarized police and law enforcement agencies.
The government should have no right to take your private property.
“No person shall be ... deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law”. The Constitution pretty clearly says that civil asset forfeiture isn’t allowed and we need to put it to bed.
Yes. Yes. Yes. No one who has not been found GUILTY should have his or her assets taken by the government. That is criminal on the government’s part.
This has been abused by different law enforcement agencies. Therefore, the citizens need protection from abuse of authority!
There should really be no forfeiture until there is a conviction. Period.
There should be INFINITE restrictions on BLATANT THEFT by the government. Eliminate the practice. "You're not guilty but your stuff is, so we're going to take it without trial and you have practically no recourse to ever get it back." What part of that sounds compatible with "land of the free"? End it now.
They should do away with it completely. I can’t believe this is allowed in our country.
The current system is rife with abuse. Go ahead and seize the assets of actual criminals, but we *must* make sure that innocent people are not hurt in the process
NO shit Sherlock! YES!!!! Police Departments use it as a way to legally steal property and money from people all the time to fund whatever pet projects they have as well as a means to up-scale their Departments militarized footprint. When the cops steal your money and property, even if you’re actually innocent of whatever they accused you of doing, or no charges were filed after all, fucking good luck getting it back at all. Civil Forfeiture is a travesty. I call it downright Unconstitutional, Fascistic,and absolutely truly UnAmerican!
It shouldn’t be legal unless someone is convicted of a crime.
There should not be any asset forfeiture by anyone. This is theft. And when done before a conviction, those responsible should never see the sun again.
The abuse of this is well documented. More regulation is sorely needed.
Yes- the fact that government agencies currently steal money and property from innocent Americans before they’re even convicted is astonishing and must be stopped.
The federal government's overeach into the people's lives is staggering. It must be reigned in, and this is a great place to start.
This Administration is in a hurry to destroy due process for everyone except themselves. They don’t need to be given more authority; they need to start following the rules themselves.