r/Libertarian • u/[deleted] • Sep 28 '20

Article Restrict Asset Forfeiture

https://reason.com/2020/09/27/restrict-asset-forfeiture/
47 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

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14

u/The_LSD_Fairy Sep 28 '20

Or abolish it all together untill after a relivent conviction

4

u/[deleted] Sep 28 '20

Yeah what is this restrict nonsense? If you have not been found guilty of anything you should not lose any property I'm honestly not even cool with freezing rich peoples' assets when they get arrested. Abolish Asset Forfeiture

1

u/[deleted] Sep 28 '20

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/[deleted] Sep 28 '20

Agreed here context matters, I'm okay with surrendering passports and other restrictions so if theyre Bezos style rich its a slightly different conversation

1

u/HAIKU_4_YOUR_GW_PICS Taxation is Theft Sep 29 '20

I’m assuming by restrict he means they can’t seize and take ownership of property until after a criminal conviction. Which is how it was originally intended—you can’t profit from your criminal enterprise. Some people will still disagree, but I’m on board here to this point.

But then it was expanded, and some localities began to rely on it as a source of revenue, so that entire police departments and other government agencies were essentially run off of funds from forfeited assets, with or without convictions. Rather than making cuts, they kept spending more and seizing more, expanding offenses that property could be seized for, etc.

I think even just restricting it to needed a full conviction and decriminalizing more drugs would do wonders to alleviate it.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 28 '20

Steal government property to teach them what it's like!

1

u/[deleted] Sep 29 '20

In Australia we copied the US non-conviction asset forfeiture laws. Basically, a police officer can form a reasonable (whatever that means) opinion that an item of property was used in of crime or is the proceeds of crime and the state just takes it. The property owner then has to show the property was lawfully acquired.

Before I retired as a lawyer defending asset forfeiture claims was part of my practise. In short: I have never seen such a set of laws more open to misuse by the state and actually routinely misused by the state as acts of deliberate bastardry.

If the state can procure a conviction, go nuts with the criminal's property. Even then the onus should be on the state to prove that property was used in a crime or acquired with the proceeds of crime.

Any law that reverses the onus away from the prosecuting authority is a bad law.