John Oliver: Civil Asset Forfeiture

[Old Crow]

Once again, John Oliver knocks it out of the park.

[dotymed]

1. What could be more

indicative of a greed based society Wow.

[Old Crow]

2. I agree

The situation is really shocking. When you combine these acts of civil asset thievery with the acts of brutality, it's amazing the police in America still have any respect at all. If reform doesn't come soon, it's going to become a feature of American society that the police are hated by the general public. We're not there yet, but we're moving closer every year.

[tnlurker]

3. For later

[oldandhappy]

4. Saw the show. Was shocked.

I did not know this. Oliver leads the way in telling us things we need to know. I am beginning to think Sarah has a point in calling the usual outlets LSM. Too much constant same-samo and not enough new vital reporting. Oliver is amasing in what he does in half-an-hour a week. I plan my Sunday evening around 8 pm -- PDT!!

[WhoIsNumberNone]

6. This has been going on since the 80s

It's gotten worse since 9/11, but it was good ol' Ronnie Raygun who got the ball rolling.

[WhoIsNumberNone]

5. "You have any large amounts of money in the vehicle?"

Why? You looking for a bribe?

[dickthegrouch]

13. That would be my answer too

But I'd dial 911 from my cell phone first and set the speaker on, so that the question and response are on tape and producible in court.

How is this not contravening the due process clause?

Is a cop required to give out a receipt for anything they confiscate?

[yallerdawg]

7. Now if we can get all the TV comedians on board...

maybe people will become aware of our evaporating Constitutional rights.

[Gothmog]

8. There are small towns in texas which are financed by these forfeitures

[Jack Rabbit]

9. Question

How is civil forfeiture any less ridiculous than indicting a corporation (not a person) for a crime?

Other than one is to seize the property of a working class stiff and the other is a way to go easy on a wealthy sleazeball, I can't think of one.

[iscooterliberally]

10. This is another bad thing that has come from the war on drugs.

The whole thing is a direct violation of our 4th amendment rights. I read a few weeks ago that Canada is warning it's citizens about traveling to the US because of this crap. Law enforcement is out of control with brutalizing and stealing from our citizens. Meanwhile some cities have a back log of rape kits that have not been tested due to 'lack of funding'. Yeah, law enforcement and congress have their heads jammed so far up their own asses that they can't connect the dots. The drug war has undermined our democracy and turned our country into a police state. The whole thing needs to be thrown out along with the DEA, private or privatized prisons, military weapons for police departments, etc. Another thing that needs to happen is when cities get sued because of police misconduct, the awards should come out of the police pension funds instead of being covered by the tax payers. Maybe then the good cops will stop covering up for the bad ones. This whole mess started with The Controlled Substances Act of 1970, and spiraled out of control from there. Public enemy number one is NOT drug abuse, it's drug prohibition. Unfortunately congress is infested with prohibitionists that need to be removed from office.

[jjewell]

17. Brilliant Post.

Well put, well said, well done.

[Scuba]

18. "when cities get sued because of police misconduct, the award should come out of the police pension"

Brilliant!

[iscooterliberally]

20. I actually got that idea from another poster, but I can't remember where I saw it.

I wish I could give credit where credit is due.

[Dustlawyer]

11. Yet another reason we need Publicly Funded Elections. Our politicians allowed this crap and

have done nothing about it. I am sure that the police lobby is using a great deal of this for more than their own Margerhita machines. A true slush fund for their loyal politicians.

How long before enough people are fed up with this crap before they will stop voting for these corporate shills and demand an end to all of this corruption? Does it have to actually have to happen to you before its real?

Kudos to John Oliver and staff!

[blackspade]

12. Yep, cops are a gang.

And an especially dangerous one.

[Overseas]

14. K&R. He tells it like it is.

[CaptainTruth]

15. So police can randomly steal from the public?

Good god ... it just gets worse & worse. What defense do we have against these thugs? Charge them with theft? File civil rights lawsuits? Can a person make a citizens arrest of a cop?

[Old Crow]

16. The short answer to your first question is "Yes. Yes, they can."

Well, maybe not randomly. They have to be able to at least pretend that they suspect the items they are stealing--I mean confiscating--were somehow connected with criminal activity.

I live near Philadelphia and used to live in the city. I knew a woman whose bar was raided by the police on suspicion that there was illegal activity occurring on the premises. She was taken in for questioning. When she made it back to her business, all of the flat screen TVs--there were several--had been seized by the Philadelphia police as a civil asset forfeiture. She never got them back. The number of hoops she would have had to jump through and the cost of the legal fees would have made it impractical.

Basically, a few cops had decided that the flat screens would look great in their man caves, so that was that. Grab and go. They've got the badges and the guns. Who's gonna stop them? Youz gotta problem widdat?

Honestly, I don't think the average citizen has any effective legal recourse. Not unless you're willing to spend $30,000 fighting the Philadelphia Police Department for five years and getting harassed on an almost weekly basis the entire time. Cops in the city can easily make your life a living hell if they get their noses out of joint about you.

[The Wizard]

19. Ther war on Reefer (hemp)

started by William Randolph Hearst to protect is monopoly of wood based news print was the beginning of the end. Prohibitions were enacted based on superstition and myth just to ensure the unwarranted income of a media baron. We have stepped through the looking glass. Why isn't main stream media covering the grand theft. Uniform worship and turning a blind eye to crime is the American standard, and we will all pay for it until the people get fed up and demand their Constitutional guarantees be restored.