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by Brother Carlton

10/03/15
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In a recent survey conducted by HuffPost/YouGov revealed that 72% of Americans have never heard of civil asset forfeiture which is a law that allows police officers to seize property such as cash, cars, jewelry and even homes, without obtaining a conviction or even charging the owner with a crime.

In fact, in most states property owners must prove that their property is not connected to illegal activity, killing the idea that you are innocent until proven guilty.

Here is what the 14th Amendment section 1 of the U. S. Constitution says:

"....nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law...."

Asset forfeiture is perhaps the biggest money making scam invented by criminal and lazy bureaucrats who are too warped in their thinking to actually work for a living or to help the free enterprise system create jobs so that others can work.

As I see it asset forfeiture is unconstitutional but that never mattered much to the criminal mind. Like inflation, these laws are really nothing more than legalized theft by State design.

Everybody has the right to private property and should not be in danger of losing their property without due process of law.

Chief Justice John Marshall once confessed in his famous Marbury vs Madison Supreme Court decision, that "we are a government of laws, and not of men."

By this he presumably meant we are a government ruled by a set of principles so distinct and well thought out that nobody has the right to arbitrarily abolish the rights inalienably given to us by our Creator.

Well, the idea that we have certain inalienable rights seems to be changing doesn't it? Men like Obama or his handlers have seen to that.

The Constitution doesn't mean much anymore to men like Clinton, Bush or Obama. In fact you'll recall that Bush once remarked that the Constitution is nothing more than a "G..damn piece of paper."

He also said with a smile, it would be easier if we had a dictatorship. Presumably he meant it would be easier to push his NWO agenda through if we had a dictatorship and didn't have to contend with the limitations and restraint put upon us because of the Constitution.

This is where I believe we are going and I recall a very astute Christian historian once saying something to that affect (this was in the 70's) that if things continued as they were he believed we would in the not too distant future have a dictatorship in the United States.

Such men who despise law and opt for arbitrary rule are unfit to govern our country but then we usually get such men as a judgment upon a nation.

Somebody might ask: "Do you think it should be the job of the accuser to prove that the property is linked to illegal activity?" Absolutely. I think this was the intent of the law historically. A person is innocent until proven guilty and a bureaucrat who believes otherwise in nothing but a hypocrite.

Police officers are already acting as revenue collectors for the city and State instead of peace officers who enforce the law against criminals such as thieves, robbers, rapists, murderers, arsonists, and kidnappers.

It is any wonder why serious crime is on the increase? Cops are playing revenue collectors for their community and they are doing it with impunity and now they've become glorified asset forfeiture agents for the State.

Cops now have a license to kill and steal. This must stop.

I can see in the future where when we have a total dictatorship, and we will, a person's very life will be forfeited and taken as in capital punishment without due process of law, that is, upon the whims of the ruler or governor in charge not withstanding any valid or moral reason to the contrary.

This is the direction the United States is heading.

Men like Clinton, Bush and Obama is a judgment upon this country for a crooked and perverse generation.

Here are some freedom lovers recent thoughts on this law.

From Michael M.
I personally have not had this displeasure, but I know of people who have. We have been guilty until we can prove we are innocent in the USA for a long time! The laws that allow confiscation of personal property without proving the assets were gained illegally is unconstitutional. However, they do it all the time and a lot of times it would cost more in attorney fees to get it back! Definitely should not be allowed, especially because it is unconstitutional. The Patriot Act is mostly unconstitutional too.

From Brian B.
"Civil asset forfeiture is nothing but government-sanctioned theft. I first heard about this last year. Whenever I have the chance to speak out about this to other citizens I am amazed that 90% of the people I talk to do not know that police departments around America are engaged in legalized theft. I always urge folks to write to their congressperson or senators to put a stop to this crime. I do not believe they ever even bother."

From Jerry L.
"Civil forfeitures are increasing at an alarming rate and are a scam by local police departments targeting cars from out of state. They are playing the percentages that it won't be economically feasible for the property owner to return to the state and challenge the taking. I am a retired attorney and was stopped on false pretenses in Mississippi. When I refused to consent to a search of my vehicle, the police immediately brought out their dog to sniff around the car. While this process produced nothing, these dogs do display false alarms providing probable cause for a more extensive police search. We're headed down a dangerous precipice with these tactics going unchecked."

From Rondall C.
I say that this robbery program of citizens by the police officers in the "good old USA" needs to be stopped and stopped now! This country used to be a country of laws, but no more; the people of the U.S. are being robbed at gunpoint and the law doesn’t seem to matter.

From Richard D.
"In my honest opinion, civil forfeiture should not exist. Often a noninvolved individual whose property unknowingly becomes involved in a crime becomes implicated in the crime. The accuser MUST prove a crime has occurred and the accused is INNOCENT until proven otherwise. We have enough laws and regulations in order to indict and prove the guilt first. Then some type of forfeiture can come about of the guilty party. Not before. This country has turned the tables on its citizens and granted itself illegal confiscation as right of entitlement."

From John E.
I once lived in the real America where the law prevented any penalties of its citizens until they were proven guilty of a crime. Is there any way we can get there again?

P.S. I am 81 years old and that was a long time ago.

Bob Bauman, Chairman of Freedom Alliance, has the following to say about how to fight this State sanctioned theft:How You Can Fight Forfeiture: Our comments about the massive abuse of civil forfeiture by American police at all levels drew many reader responses. Based on those comments here are two suggestions: 1) For those asking what can be done to fight forfeiture, go to the website of the leading anti-forfeiture group, FEAR — Forfeiture Endangers American Rights — and get on their free mailing list. FEAR tells you what you can do and reports on reform bills pending in the U.S. Congress and state legislatures, plus the latest news. I am a former FEAR board member and Sovereign Society founder Mark Nestmann is treasurer. 2) FEAR also provides extensive advice on how to fight forfeiture if you are a victim, with links to legal defense attorneys. One of the best that I recommend is Brenda Grantland JD, Email: [email protected]; Address: 20 Sunnyside, Suite A-204, Mill Valley, CA 94941; Telephone: (415)381-6105.

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