tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post5358733534985460040..comments2024-03-25T20:06:39.794-05:00Comments on Grits for Breakfast: Making the conservative case against civil asset forfeitureGritsforbreakfasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-74006012132326644432014-12-10T16:20:53.332-06:002014-12-10T16:20:53.332-06:00lol guess it was me. took 3 diff spyware/malware ...lol guess it was me. took 3 diff spyware/malware programs to stop it.<br /><br />as for the so-called "civil asset forfeiture" <br /><br />Sorry but if it is not preceded by a criminal conviction that included charges showing the amount of funds or the property.<br /><br />YOU are now a bigger criminal the the individual you just conducted armed robbery on. Guess what he/she now has every legal and moral right to destroy you and reclaim their property just like any individual robbed on the street.<br /><br />even if they have to hurt to kill you.rodsmithnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-25818923334573616322014-12-10T12:10:23.291-06:002014-12-10T12:10:23.291-06:00John Oliver is my man! He's great at bringing ...John Oliver is my man! He's great at bringing attention to issues that the media at large is ignoring (like the elections in India). And I didn't know that drug dealers save the banks. I guess I owe them a Christmas card? <br /><br />But I think it's just common sense that civil asset forfeiture needs to be reformed. The law, as it's written, allows for abuse; all we need is evidence that abuse is happening to have reason to change it. I don't see it as a conservative or liberal issue in that sense. But the framing from a liberal point of view would probably be that minorities and the poor feel the brunt of forfeitures the most, and from a conservative point of view, it would be that it allows the government to arbitrarily seize private property.<br /><br />@Grits: In my opinion, the most interesting hypothesis for the first-world crime decline is that it's related to the reduction of lead in the environment."Red" Merriweather Coasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16462819680150178346noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-19330935454725564842014-12-10T08:48:06.947-06:002014-12-10T08:48:06.947-06:00Of course there are tremendous abuses taking place...Of course there are tremendous abuses taking place. Grandmothers who have no idea what their delinquent grandchildren are doing are losing their homes because a grandchild was living under her roof and is involved in illegal drug activity. As for law enforcement, small towns buying military tanks?! That's what they use the funds for so are you kidding me? And don't get me started about the Texas attorney general--that office is too pre-occupied in grandstanding over political lawsuits against a President they disdain then paying attention to how local law enforcement squanders funds from seizures--where is their righteous indignation when someone who has done nothing they can be prosecuted for loses their home or car and as a result their ability to earn a livlihood? Wake up and smell the coffee for Pete's sake.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11372648550723579284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-14662337609793269302014-12-09T20:14:33.497-06:002014-12-09T20:14:33.497-06:00I think your getting hit by a spam link. had to f...I think your getting hit by a spam link. had to freeze the page from loading because 3 times I tried to open the page it jumped immediately to this<br /><br />http://x.vindicosuite.com/imp/?l=169943&t=h&u=&r=&rnd=10699354rodsmithnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-78160539279672637242014-12-09T14:36:50.570-06:002014-12-09T14:36:50.570-06:00@1:44, only a fool (or someone disingenuously trol...@1:44, only a fool (or someone disingenuously trolling anonymously who would never make such silly statements under their own name) would attribute crime declines to "the Texas Civil Forfeiture law" when crime has declined much more in states that use forfeiture less and also in <a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Papers.cfm?abstract_id=2520500" rel="nofollow">other western nations</a> that don't use it in that way at all.<br /><br />So no, I don't think it's possible the forfeiture law is responsible for the crime decline. We've witnessed a natural, real-world experiment showing that's not true.<br /><br />Also, if you've seen few anecdotes of civil forfeiture abuses besides the margarita DA and Tenaha, then <a href="http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Former-District-Attorney-sentenced-in-Kerrville-793542.php?c=y&page=2#storytop" rel="nofollow">you're</a> <a href="http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2012/01/audits-of-asset-forfeiture-funds-yield.html" rel="nofollow">not</a> <a href="http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2014/05/of-kingpins-pirates-and-privateers.html" rel="nofollow">paying</a> <a href="http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2014/11/what-goes-on-at-prosecutors-mardi-gras.html" rel="nofollow">attention</a>.Gritsforbreakfasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-19526446667065434712014-12-09T13:44:16.713-06:002014-12-09T13:44:16.713-06:00I don't know that I would call it the "co...I don't know that I would call it the "conservative" case, Grits. More appropriately, the "libertarian" case perhaps. I do think it's interesting that crime rates have gone down since the legislature's enactment of the Texas Civil Forfeiture law. Don't you think it's possible that stripping crime of its profit potential at all levels has contributed in some respect to this reduction? I'm continually amazed at how a few anecdotal examples of civil forfeiture abuses are routinely trotted out (margarita machines, Teneha, etc.) in support of arguments favoring "reform." What might be interesting is a study showing how most law enforcement agencies in Texas are actually using forfeited funds (my guess is that the overwhelming majority of expenditures are clearly justified) and how much taxpayers have SAVED due to forfeiture funds being used. Aren't all law enforcement agencies that use forfeiture funds required to report how the funds are spent to the Attorney General? If there was any systematic misuse, I'm guessing either you or other members of the media would be able to easily show it instead of relying on the same old worn out examples. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com