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Cops Use Traffic Stops To Seize Millions From Drivers Never Charged With A Crime

During the stop, Deputy Dove performed a warrant check and found a warrant for a Ken Smith. On that basis, Dove detained Smith. But according to a lawsuit filed by Smith, the Ken Smith on the warrant had a different birthday and was black. The pulled-over Smith was white. As the lawsuit puts it, Smith �should have been cited for speeding and let go, if there was probable cause for speeding violations.�

Instead, Smith was �unarrested� and allowed to leave with his car if he signed a waiver to surrender $13,800 in cash he had in the vehicle. The Humboldt County Sheriff�s office also seized a .40 caliber Ruger handgun from Smith, though Smith claimed he did not waive his right to that firearm.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/institu...from-drivers-never-charged-with-a-crime/

Theft and extortion under the color of law:

'Sometimes the law defends plunder and participates in it. Sometimes the law places the whole apparatus of judges, police, prisons and gendarmes at the service of the plunderers, and treats the victim -- when he defends himself -- as a criminal.' - Frederic Bastiat

There are two sides to every story. I would guess that if the man was polite he would have gone about his merry way.

Maybe you should read the article

So, then in your view our Second Amendment and even our most basic property rights are dispensations from government dependent on our polite compliance to even its most petty functionaries.

Your Amerika and my America are then are very different places.

Civil forfeiture laws are against everything this country has ever stood for. Theft is theft, and gov't has no right to take anything without at a minimum proving guilt beyond a shadow of a doubt.

There just HAS to be more to this.

You can't just take someone's money like that. Even if they sign something. Has to be a crime there that links the money

Drug dealers are just going to have to start taking pay pal.

If you gents would just read the article

http://www.forbes.com/sites/institu...from-drivers-never-charged-with-a-crime/

'It is impossible to introduce into society a greater change and a greater evil than this: the conversion of the law into an instrument of plunder.' ~ Frederic Bastiat

We was warned!

Damn, I guess that I shoulda copied and pasted the whole thing links seem to confuse 'em.

That right there sold me

There is nothing the law about "politeness".

Much easier to jump to conclusions!

I did read the article. The Vietnamese guy there was at least some suspicion of drugs. One of the crimes you can sieze stuff for.

Bit the other guy, the one pulled over for speedin, says it was a warrant. For what I don't know, and that it wasn't his. No way to legally seize money in that case. Unless there's more to the story, or the cop is just a criminal. That's it.

Yes, that's what he means. It's a common cop attitude.

Sadly, this should go without saying, but does need saying in modern America. Very sad indeed.

I think you all are catching on. Known drug route. They shake everybody down. Bad guys can hardly cry foul, but there's a lot of good guy getting caught up in the BS. Guy's no better than the thugs he 's shakin down.

Yep. Pretty sure the church secretary was an azz hole.

What is a "shadow of a doubt"? Can you give me a proposed jury instruction for it? I'm familiar with "beyond a reasonable doubt". It's the highest burden of proof in our legal system.

Reasonable doubt, amigo!

I've litigated more than a handful of these civil forfeiture cases. Even had attorney's fees taken from me.

They're a bitch and the law needs to be changed such that due process is back at the forefront of civil forfeiture cases. They're not really even forfeitures, they're subjective,unilateral confiscations.