Gourt > Society > Issues > Property Rights > Forfeiture
Search and seizure is a legal procedure used in many common law whereby police or other authorities and their agents, who suspect that a crime has been committed, do a search of a person's property and confiscate any relevant evidence to the crime. Certain countries, such as the United States and Canada, have provisions in their constitutions that provide the public with the right against "unreasonable" search and seizure. This right is generally based in the premise that everyone is entitled to a reasonable right to privacy.
Though interpretation may vary, this right usually requires law enforcement to obtain a search warrant before engaging in any form of search and seizure.
United States
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides for a citizen's protection against unreasonable search and seizure in the United States. Case law has maintained that until an arrest has occurred, law enforcement are required to gain a warrant before they can effect a search. However, searches are permitted under the "plain view" and "open fields" doctrine that allow an officer to seize evidence that is located where there is no expectation of privacy. More on [ Search and seizure ]
Backload of forfeiture cases leave cash, cars sitting unused in Fairfax County: In secret police facilities across ... http://bit.ly/5PZ9rl
HeadlineVa_News (Scott Bateman) Wed, 16 Dec 2009 08:42:41 -0000
Backload of forfeiture cases leave cash, cars sitting unused in Fairfax County: In secret police facilities across ... http://bit.ly/5PZ9rl
Backload of forfeiture cases leave cash, cars sitting unused in Fairfax County http://bit.ly/56kQ7s
AutoMobilistic (Harry Barry) Wed, 16 Dec 2009 07:57:01 -0000
Backload of forfeiture cases leave cash, cars sitting unused in Fairfax County http://bit.ly/56kQ7s
#contracts Dj_valium__56 | Taste of Home Community: With the long weight-loss of the forfeiture, some lorazepam of the l http://url4.eu/wOdy
monitorix_uwt (Subsea Technology) Wed, 16 Dec 2009 06:27:36 -0000
#contracts Dj_valium__56 | Taste of Home Community: With the long weight-loss of the forfeiture, some lorazepam of the l http://url4.eu/wOdy
#listeningto forfeiture, whenever I listen to this song now it makes me think of @JAYAHAHA
stanFUCK (stanFCKNGSILLYBITCH) Wed, 16 Dec 2009 05:56:40 -0000
#listeningto forfeiture, whenever I listen to this song now it makes me think of @JAYAHAHA
I favorited a YouTube video -- House vs Hurricane - Forfeiture (official Video, first on youtube)) http://bit.ly/8rKJAe
thamirulez (tamara roman ) Wed, 16 Dec 2009 03:39:11 -0000
I favorited a YouTube video -- House vs Hurricane - Forfeiture (official Video, first on youtube)) http://bit.ly/8rKJAe
MN Jobs | Records Examiner / Analyst at the ATF in St. Paul at Forfeiture Support Associates (... http://bit.ly/641EXp #Job #Hiring #MNJobs
ZuluJobsMN (Jason Pedley) Wed, 16 Dec 2009 01:40:38 -0000
MN Jobs | Records Examiner / Analyst at the ATF in St. Paul at Forfeiture Support Associates (... http://bit.ly/641EXp #Job #Hiring #MNJobs
Forfeiture Endangers American Rights Foundation - FEAR is an American nonprofit organization dedicated to reform of federal and state asset forfeiture laws to restore due process and protect property rights in the forfeiture process.
Meta Description: [ Forfeiture Endangers American Rights is a national non-profit organization dedicated
to the reform of state and federal asset forfeiture laws to restore due process and protect innocent property owners. ]
the Constitution - Includes information relating the prohibition of Bills of Attainder to asset forfeiture.
American Forfeiture Law: Property Owners Meet the Prosecutor - A Policy Analysis from the Cato Institute that discusses the history of forfeiture and how it has enhanced the power of government over people and their property in ways that are difficult to reconcile with long-cherished constitutional rights.
Meta Description: [ Promoting an American public policy based on individual liberty, limited government, free markets and peaceful international relations. Extensive library of studies, articles and monographs available ]
American RadioWorks : Corrections Inc. - The war on drugs took off when police agencies got a new incentive to chase drug offenders: the ability to keep cash and vehicles seized in drug operations. Critics say asset forfeiture skews police priorities by giving them a monetary stake in the war on drugs. Read, Listen (Real Audio, 19:30 min)
Bill Of Attainder Project - A civil liberties organization started by the Libertarian Party of Oklahoma, which contacts political activists, organizations and others to oppose forfeiture.
Does the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act of 2000 Bring a Modicum of Sanity to the Federal Civil Forfeiture System - An excellent review of the impact of the Reform Act of 2000 on forfeiture, giving a history of forfeiture as well as the passage of the act itself.
Drug loot fuels drug war - A series of articles on forfeiture by the Standard Times newspaper of SouthCoast, MA. Very balanced, providing views from both sides of this issue.
Executive Privateers - A Discussion on Why the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act Will Not Significantly Reform the Practice of Forfeiture
Meta Description: [ This copyrighted law review article from the U. of Miami L. Rev. was republished with permission on the FEAR website. ]
Forfeiture is Reasonable, and It Works - Article published by the E. L. Wiegand Practice Groups of the Federalist Society as to the constitutionality of forfeiture.
404
Forfeiture Reform Activists: Support Resources - Provides supporting material, and links, for the activists that are fighting for forfeiture reform. In particular the intent is to provide resources in support of the current Forfeiture Reform Bill, now in the U.S. Senate.
JMD: AFP: 2001 Asset Forfeiture Fund Reports - Here you can see the annual reports on the looting by the Justice Department. Treasury has similar reports.
Justice Management Division: Asset Forfeiture Program - The primary asset forfeiture pages of the US Department of Justice.
404
Losing Ones Livelihood to the Grasp of Fiction - An introductory article on the law of civil forfeiture in the United States written in 1996 by Robert Shaw. Provides an overview of laws and legal standards, forfeiture's origins and history, law enforcement relationships and abuses, and suggestions for reform.
Property and Liberty: You can't give up one without losing the other - Asserting that private property rights are necessary for personal freedom.
Reforming Property Forfeiture Laws to Protect Citizens' Rights - A study of asset forfeiture by the Macinac Center, which concludes nine specific reforms are necessary to reduce the unfairness and abuses of the present system.
Meta Description: [ An article on liberty and free markets as sound public policy for Michigan. ]
Steven L. Kessler - Online articles, from an attorney and author with expertise in RICO and forfeiture.
Taking Cash into Custody - A series of articles from The Kansas City Star's projects desk is the second examination Star reporter Karen Dillon has made of police circumventing state forfeiture laws -- this time with a national scope.
The Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act 1997 (Testimony) - Congressional testimony from Roger Pilon, Ph.D., J.D., Senior Fellow and Director Center for Constitutional Studies, Cato Institute, before the Committee on the Judiciary, United States House of Representatives, June 11, 1997.
The Devil is in the Details - The Forfeiture Example of American 'Justice'. A heavy criticism of asset forfeiture by S. Leon Felkins.
The Government's Legal Theft Racket - Spirited attack on forfeiture law, by Michael Fumento. Discusses Tina Bennis case and others.
Meta Description: [ Bestselling author Michael Fumento reports: The Government's Legal Theft Racket. ]
U.S. Marshals Service: Asset Forfeiture Program - The US Marshals Service explains the goals and benefits of the asset forfeiture program.
Your House is Under Arrest - Excerpt from book about how police can seize you home, car and business without a trial and how to protect yourself, by Brenda Grantland.
Meta Description: [ Introduction to: Your House is Under Arrest ]
Z Magazine: Asset Forfeiture - Article by activist and writer Susan Meeker Lowry critical of the practice as applied in the 'war on drugs.'
| Asset Forfeiture (Part 3 - Paul McKeever) | |
| Next Video | |
