We’re not precisely strangers to the idea of civil asset forfeiture, however that doesn’t imply it stops being irritating to examine individuals having their issues stolen for no cause. Take, for instance, the automobile dealer highlighted in a current Atlanta Information First article. He was flying from Washington, D.C. to Sacramento, California and had a connection by way of Atlanta. As he was boarding his flight to Sacramento, officers with the drug activity drive pulled him apart and proceeded to take $23,850 in money from considered one of his luggage.
Did he have any medicine in his possession? Nope. Had he truly carried out something unlawful? Nope. A TSA agent simply noticed he had money in his bag and narc-ed on him. The cops mentioned his luggage smelled like weed, so they simply took his cash. He was by no means arrested or charged with a criminal offense, and leisure marijuana is authorized in D.C. By flying “from Atlanta, a recognized drug hub metropolis, to Sacramento, California, a recognized drug supply metropolis,” the prosecutor claimed that was sufficient of a cause to warrant taking his money.
“There was nothing unlawful or suspicious within the scent of marijuana on the Claimant’s belongings,” the person’s legal professional wrote when requesting his a refund. “If the Claimant had smoked marijuana, he had legally carried out so in one other jurisdiction … no foundation for a seizure in Georgia.”
The dealer was capable of present receipts that proved he had earned his cash legally, and ultimately, the court docket agreed to return his cash. Simply not all of it. He received $17,887.50 again, however the county nonetheless stored $5,962.50. Why? That’s not clear, however we’re going to imagine they simply wished it.
To be clear, having greater than $10,000 in your possession just isn’t unlawful. There are many completely reputable causes you may carry that a lot money, comparable to once you’re touring to purchase a automobile from a non-public vendor. Nonetheless, as a consequence of civil asset forfeiture legal guidelines, cops can simply take your cash each time they really feel prefer it. As Dan Alban, an legal professional with the Institute for Justice, informed Atlanta Information First:
There is no such thing as a technique of transporting money or storing money that police is not going to say triggers possible trigger. This individual was sporting his footwear on his toes, and that’s one thing that’s a standard attribute of drug traffickers. After all he was, as a result of that’s how everybody wears footwear. This man had cash in an envelope, and that’s a attribute of drug traffickers. It’s additionally a attribute of what number of different individuals transport money.
…
There’s a robust incentive for legislation enforcement to attempt to get as a lot cash as it could into what I might name a slush fund. They will spend the cash on no matter they need. And that encourages them to spend the cash pursuing extra forfeiture {dollars}. Basically, it’s a self-perpetuating, revenue-generating machine.
In order that’s enjoyable. We’d like to imagine that the Supreme Court docket goes to step in and cease this nonsense quickly, however one thing tells us that’s not going to occur. Not whereas cops stay so highly effective and politically influential.