Representatives from both sides of the aisle came together in Maine recently, in order to effectively block the passage of a bill that was going to reform the state's asset forfeiture laws.
The new piece of legislation, Senate Bill 888, was introduced several weeks ago back at the beginning of March. But on May 9th, the Senate voted to get rid of the bill, the final vote was 24-10.
The new bill, if passed, would've reformed the controversial asset forfeiture laws in the state and would've required a criminal conviction before any state prosecutors would be authorized to proceed with asset forfeiture of someone's property.
Imagine that! It would've required them to follow a basic tenet of due process.
The accused would need to be perceived as innocent until proven guilty, instead of his property being guilty and him having to prove that he and it are innocent.
As of right now, this policy is going on around the U.S., where they can seize whatever property they would like to if they believe that property is associated with a crime; the individual might never be charged or found guilty of any crime yet their property could be taken.
There aren't many people who are financially ready to take on a civil legal battle against the government in order to get their property back and so there are many who never see their property again.
Civil liberties advocates and legal experts have long protested against the existence of this policy within the U.S., and it shouldn't be surprising that the two parties would come together in order to protect the profits; like was just displayed in Maine. There has been frequent pressure from law enforcement officials to try and put a stop to any effort to change this policy and do we really have to guess why that would be.
There have been widespread accusations of abuse surrounding this policy and a fair amount of controversy surrounding the use of the funds that get acquired by various police departments.
Civil asset forfeiture is quite rightly criticized as being one of the most prominent abuses against property rights that occurs today.
A lengthy national study into this policy around the U.S., revealed that civil asset forfeiture has seemingly little to do with seeking justice and rather encourages a corrupt system of policing for profit.
Gone are the days when it was innocent until proven guilty, or when officers of the law had to have evidence first and consequently obtained a warrant based on that evidence, whereas today they just come and grab what they want. Why waste time officially charging you with anything.
Though there have been various efforts to try and curb asset forfeiture in some places, it doesn't look like it's going to be put to an end anytime soon. Just like the ongoing wars, the unjust spying, and the corrupt debt etc. This policy is one that to date has helped to raise billions of dollars for the state, so we can't expect them to be enthusiastic about ending something that's proved to be so lucrative.
Pics:
Pixabay
the state of my state
ClipartFest
Sources:
https://legiscan.com/ME/bill/LD888/2017
https://legiscan.com/ME/bill/LD888/2017
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_forfeiture_in_the_United_States
https://www.cato.org/events/policing-profit-abuse-civil-asset-forfeiture
http://ij.org/report/policing-for-profit/
http://www.ij.org/policingforprofitpdf
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