That article is shocking, particularly the testimony of Barry Washington described at the end.
It’s harder to tie a home to money laundering, drug sales, or racketeering. If you pull over a car full of drugs or cash, well, the car is being used to transport them. If you search a home and find stuff it may only be a storage area, which doesn’t justify forfeiture in some states.
Sorry, sometimes I forget that not everyone on this board is a Time Lord.
My husband and I LOANED our travel trailer to an adult son while doctors are testing for severe illness. In spite of his being an adult, we have expressly forbidden ANYONE from using drugs while staying in our travel trailer.
I believe my son is actively using marijuana and I’m not blinded to the possibility that other drugs are being used, as well. What would happen to my travel trailer if the occupants were caught doing drugs? Should this occur at or on my property and he’s in possession of enough drugs to be considered by the police to be dealing, can or will they seize our travel trailer?
All I can say is that in New Jersey the answer would be no. It is nearly impossible to win at a civil forfeiture hearing if the property belongs to someone other than the defendant. You have to somehow prove that the property is someone else’s in name only which is difficult to do. Almost all the time it’s not worth it to try.
Other jurisdictions I can’t say. Laws differ.
If you get charged with possession with intent to distribute, or actually get caught selling drugs, whatever you are in when you get arrested, gets seized if you own it and likely even if you don’t.
It stays that way til the distribution charge is dropped. If you get convicted of or plead guilty to distribution, the police auction your property unless you can make a deal to get your property back, which is unlikely. You don’t get property seized in Maryland for simple possession, however the quantities required to get charged with distribution of schedule 1 drugs are pretty low. It’s a number of individual packages (13 I think it is) or more than a gram. And it can be constructive possession. Google that.
If you are the owner of property where someone gets charged for distribution, you also get charged.
It’s pretty easy to get your life wrecked being near a drug dealer or even just a user that has over the required amount of drugs to get charged for distribution.
Zombies don’t sell drugs, but they will infest your house.
And then there’s this:
Basically, the Nevada cops had a good idea that the fellow was carrying a large sum of money, so they concocted a reason to stop him again for a full search… And then tried to lie to the courts about it. Definitely legalized theft in this case. the fact that they do this suggests they are motivated - the money must go directly to their department. Maybe they get bonuses too - a perverse incentive if ever there was one.
Since this was resurrected to discuss a particular legal case instead of more general legal issues, I’m going to move this to IMHO.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
Sounds like a flouting of the particularity clause in the 4th Amendment: “Particularly describing the […] property to be seized.”
That is a requirement for a warrant. Civil forfeiture works a bit differently (though there are still substantial constitutional implications).
Well, there you are. Any defense counsel worth his bar membership could find a way to shoehorn the Particularity Clause in there.