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The Pros And Cons Of Civil Forfeiture

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One muggy summer evening in 2008, Joseph Gardner, an elderly man working as a cashier at a local convenience store on the outskirts of Seattle, Washington, took his last customer of the day, a barrel-chested young police officer, and locked up for the night. While driving his beat up old van home, he noticed that the same police car he’d seen in his store’s parking lot was shadowing him, and had been for the last couple miles. Only three blocks from his home in the suburbs, the patrol car pulled Joseph over to the side of the road. Knocking on his window, the officer asked Gardner if he knew that he’d switched lanes without using his turn signal. Gardner replied that no, he had no idea and must have forgotten. Did Gardner have anything illegal …show more content…

Under this law, government agencies like the police are allowed to confiscate things from the populace that they think were obtained illegally. An example of such would be a police department having a cruiser with a bumper sticker that says “This used to be a drug dealer’s car! Now it’s ours!” Hundreds of federal laws allow forfeiture to be used on innumerable illegalities like underground fight clubs, drug rings, money won from people gambling in basements, and the like. One terrible thing about civil forfeiture is that you don’t need to be convicted or found guilty of a crime to have your possessions forfeited to the authorities. In some states, the level of suspicion of probable cause is enough for the police to crack down. In fact, it isn’t necessary for you to even be accused of a crime, let alone actually charged for one. Civil forfeiture is different from criminal forfeiture in that criminal forfeiture requires that a person be convicted of some crime before their property can be seized. Civil forfeiture is what happens when a lawsuit is filed directly against someone’s property instead of the person who owns said property. This has lead to some hilariously amusing case names, including United States v. $124,700 in U.S. Currency and United States v. Approximately 64,695 Pounds of Shark

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Tammy V noticed Richard put something in his pants and took him to officer Cooker to have him check. Richard turned over a bandanna that was not his that he had taken from the staff mail room were he was doing work on an in house detention for cutting class on 9.20.16. I confirmed for officer Cooker that it did not belong to Richard even after Richard told the officer that it was not his and he took it for his collection at home. It was at this point that officer Cooker sighted Richard for stolen property and issued a citation.

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Case Citation: Maryland v. Pringle, 540 U.S. 366 (2003). Parties: Maryland, Petitioner Joseph Jermaine Pringle, Respondent Facts: A car was stopped y a Police officer for speeding. The Officer had probable cause to search the vehicle and when he did he found money and cocaine. The three occupants of the car were arrested for denying ownership. After signing a written confession Pringle was sentenced by the State Court for possession and intention of distribution of cocaine.

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The controversy in this case amongst the public is whether or not Umar Zameer was responsible for the untimely death of Jeffery Northup, or if the undercover police officers were liable for not revealing themselves as law enforcement. Thesis The Zameer case is an Ontario court case involving civilian Umar Zameer and a vehicular accident that caused the death of undercover Toronto Police Officer Jeffery Northop. The court trial of Zameer creates division amongst communities over liability, ethics, and fairness of the criminal justice system, while simultaneously questioning what case detail divides an individual from guilt and innocence. The trial raises concerns about how court cases can be fairly tried with heavy media influence and presence, current societal issues, and regulations made for and by legal enforcement, questioning who is at

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They are harassed, fisked in what they say “ breathtaking numbers .” More than 45,000 people were stopped and harassed by member’s of the street crime unit in 1997 throughout 1998. Over more then ten thousand people were arrested due to specious acts. Bob Herbert introduces Mayor Giuliani from New York, and how he states that “ The stop are driven by the descriptions of the person who committed the crime.” (Giuliani 1)

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In the case of Riley V. California, Mr. Riley was stopped on a traffic violation, which led to his arrest on weapons charges. The officer searching Riley’s incident to arrest seized a cell phone form Riley’s possession. There was information on the phone and repeated use of a term associated with a street gang. Hours later a gang detective examined the phone’s digital contents and based in part on photographs and videos found, the State charged Riley in connection with a shooting that occurred a few weeks earlier. They sought an enhanced sentence based on Riley’s gang membership.

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In the book Between the World and Me, author Ta-Nehisi Coates shares the experience of a traffic stop through the eyes of a Black man. Recounting a memory to his son, Coates explains, “They took my identification and returned to the squad car. I sat there in terror… At that point in American history, no police department fired its guns more than that of Prince George’s County” (Coates 75-76). Given the increasing number of stories arising of unjustifiable police brutality, when pulled over by the police, understandably, Coates was genuinely concerned that they may take his life away.

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Almost a decade ago, Antoine Jones was tried, convicted, and given a life sentence for operating a drug trade. Of course, his possession of illegal drugs and involvement in the selling of illegal drugs is enough for his conviction, but Jones argues that the police secured evidence unconstitutionally. When the police first started observing Jones on suspicions of his participation in the drug trade, they fastened a hidden GPS device on his car, in order to track Jones to a so-called “stash house,” although they did not procure a warrant to use the device. The police were able to successfully apprehend Jones based on evidence procured from the GPS. Citing the Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution, Jones took his case to the Supreme Court.

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With millions of criminal convictions a year, more than two million people may end up behind bars(Gross). According to Samuel Gross reporter for The Washington Post, writes that also “even one percent amounts to tens of thousands of tragic [wrongful conviction] errors”(Gross). Citizens who are wrongfully convicted are incarcerated for a crime he or she did not commit. Many police officers, prosecutors, and judges are responsible for the verdict that puts innocents into prison. To be able to get exonerated many wait over a decade just to get there case looked at, not many are able to have the opportunity of getting out.

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Asset forfeiture is a tool used by law enforcement at all levels. Money is a big player in most all criminal activities and is the motivation behind the scenes. By seizing the money you can slow down or stop some of the criminal activities. However money is not the only thing that is seized, many times automobiles, boats, and planes will seized as well other types of criminal tools. These items could also be houses land and/or anything connected to the crime or criminal activity.

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