Sanity Comes To New Mexico Seizure Laws!!
Apr 13, 2015 16:59:24 GMT -6
Nugget, Glencairn, and 4 more like this
Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2015 16:59:24 GMT -6
Now this is truly GOOD news! The U.S. Civil Forfeiture laws are used, abused and exploited to essentially make law enforcement a for-profit enterprise, or close enough to it for the difference to be questionable, at best.
Now, in a move I had somehow missed was even coming, New Mexico will be one state where this doesn't happen for mere suspicion or accusation any longer!
Now, in a move I had somehow missed was even coming, New Mexico will be one state where this doesn't happen for mere suspicion or accusation any longer!
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I'm not entirely sure I like forfeiture AT ALL, unless assets are *DIRECTLY* a product of a crime with victims. I.E....you get a stolen car or TV or similar thing seized. If you defraud people, they have the right to have all your assets seized to make good on the fraud. Makes sense to me. However, this 'take and cash out for the cops' has been as criminal as anything the cops bust to get there, IMO.
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Well, Amen and Hallelujah. It may not solve everything, and it doesn't. It is more than a good start in at least one state though. Perhaps a trend could start here, and Constitutional respect could spread! ...well..okay, not likely. Still, I'm happy to see where it DOES work out occasionally.
New Mexico will stop seizing money and property under civil forfeiture laws on mere suspicion that it is linked to crime, under a bill signed Friday by Gov. Susana Martinez.
House Bill 560, to take effect in July, forbids civil forfeitures in cases where a crime is only suspected; a conviction or a guilty plea will be required.
House Bill 560, to take effect in July, forbids civil forfeitures in cases where a crime is only suspected; a conviction or a guilty plea will be required.
I'm not entirely sure I like forfeiture AT ALL, unless assets are *DIRECTLY* a product of a crime with victims. I.E....you get a stolen car or TV or similar thing seized. If you defraud people, they have the right to have all your assets seized to make good on the fraud. Makes sense to me. However, this 'take and cash out for the cops' has been as criminal as anything the cops bust to get there, IMO.
ACLU of Mexico executive director Peter Simonson called the bill-signing "a good day for the Bill of Rights."
"For years police could seize people's cash, cars, and houses without even accusing anyone of a crime. Today, we have ended this unfair practice in New Mexico and replaced it with a model that is just and constitutional."
"For years police could seize people's cash, cars, and houses without even accusing anyone of a crime. Today, we have ended this unfair practice in New Mexico and replaced it with a model that is just and constitutional."
Well, Amen and Hallelujah. It may not solve everything, and it doesn't. It is more than a good start in at least one state though. Perhaps a trend could start here, and Constitutional respect could spread! ...well..okay, not likely. Still, I'm happy to see where it DOES work out occasionally.
