Quote:
Originally Posted by JiggyMac
Like I said, I think I'd limit this to Federal cases only. And tighten up the loopholes allowing local law enforcement to simply turn over property to the Feds. I'd be willing to entertain other creative ways to compensate those who are wrong by such a system.
It's been a while since I really thought about this and I'm hazy on some of the details on the existing constraints, so I wouldn't offer a concrete proposal without reminding myself of a bunch of stuff I've forgotten.
But, the above seems like a reasonable start. It would be easier to develop standard procedures and enforce them if it were federal only. While I agree that there are probably scenarios in which seizure prior to conviction (as part of an investigation) is reasonable, I think that it should be illegal to hold property indefinitely in the absence of a conviction on charges that somehow relate to the seized property. That just seems like the most obvious due process issue.
It seems clear that there are scenarios in which asset forfeiture is a reasonable law enforcement tactic for combating organized crime. The main problem is just a lack of real oversight leading to obvious abuses.