Michigan Sheriff Turning Confiscated Cars into Police Vehicles

[trukluvr]

Re: Michigan Sheriff Turning Confiscated Cars into Police Vehicles

If the dealer is CONVICTED, by all means sieze his junk and use it or sell it. No conviction=no siezure. Our city does this. The junk is impounded at arrest and released if no conviction. Also seized at conviction is any personal property and real estate of the dealer. Our city has demolished or sold several homes doing this. They have even take clothing and given it to local charities when the dealer is sent to the Gray Bar Hotel.

[Super Sport]

Re: Michigan Sheriff Turning Confiscated Cars into Police Vehicles

If the dealer is CONVICTED, by all means sieze his junk and use it or sell it. No conviction=no siezure. Our city does this. The junk is impounded at arrest and released if no conviction. Also seized at conviction is any personal property and real estate of the dealer. Our city has demolished or sold several homes doing this. They have even take clothing and given it to local charities when the dealer is sent to the Gray Bar Hotel.

Ten years ago, I would have had no issue whatsoever with a policy like this, and as a reserve cop, I acted as an instrument of such policies. But my experiences, and maybe my life experience in general has shown me that governments are made up of people that are greedy, corruptible and susceptible to taking good ideas and not knowing when to stop.

Taking property as a punitive measure has no grounds in constitutional law. It is entirely a creation of contemperary judicial and legislative attitudes that see it as a useful means to an end. It's damned profitable. And it's easy to make it stick with the public, because after all, no one loves a drug dealer.

Property seizure, under any circumstance, should raise red flags to citizens, and arouse suspicion. Read your Constitution.

[yogreasygramma]

Re: Michigan Sheriff Turning Confiscated Cars into Police Vehicles

If the dealer is CONVICTED, by all means sieze his junk and use it or sell it. No conviction=no siezure. Our city does this. The junk is impounded at arrest and released if no conviction. Also seized at conviction is any personal property and real estate of the dealer. Our city has demolished or sold several homes doing this. They have even take clothing and given it to local charities when the dealer is sent to the Gray Bar Hotel.

Ten years ago, I would have had no issue whatsoever with a policy like this, and as a reserve cop, I acted as an instrument of such policies. But my experiences, and maybe my life experience in general has shown me that governments are made up of people that are greedy, corruptible and susceptible to taking good ideas and not knowing when to stop.

Taking property as a punitive measure has no grounds in constitutional law. It is entirely a creation of contemperary judicial and legislative attitudes that see it as a useful means to an end. It's damned profitable. And it's easy to make it stick with the public, because after all, no one loves a drug dealer.

Property seizure, under any circumstance, should raise red flags to citizens, and arouse suspicion. Read your Constitution.

Bingo! We have a winner here. Absolutely right, with one and only one exception, to pay a court-imposed fine after conviction of some kind of crime, if the fine can't be paid otherwise. This is a vast difference between that and "seize anything and everything from a drug dealer (or whoever) and if convicted, keep said property". In other words, property rights are paramount. Without them we have nothing as a society, no property rights, no human rights. The Constitution is amazingly simple, clear and to the point.