States cannot ignore the Constitution when imposing fines or confiscating people’s property in civil or criminal cases, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled Wednesday.
The decision in Timbs v. Indiana means there will be changes in the widespread and chronically abused law enforcement tactic of civil asset forfeiture. This was a unanimous ruling.
It is estimated that four out of five asset forfeiture cases nationwide do not feature a criminal conviction. In many cases, the person whose things get taken never even gets charged with a crime, let alone convicted of one. These civil forfeitures have become a key revenue-raising tool for prosecutors’ offices and police agencies — a broken incentive structure that has made dubious property confiscations (robbery) common around the country.
The ruling states what should have been obvious all along — that the Eighth Amendment’s “excessive fines clause” applies in state and local courts not just federal ones.
Law enforcement groups have virulently opposed past efforts to curb the abuse potential (legalized robbery) baked into a system where people with guns and badges get materially rewarded from illegitimate thefts of private property.
This chapter in the ongoing saga of Portland pisses me off. Ahead of a Patriot Prayer rally, Police informed their leader that it would be treated as a ‘mutual combat’ situation.
OK, the fuzz were apparently hoping for a melee that they could hang on “Antifa”.
That makes me angry. Blame the (out-of-towner) SPLC for those (out-of-towner) guys being assholes.
I guess its off to kick over some little kid’s lemonade stand next. Hopefully this will be a boon for him as the kid was featured on Ellen a couple of years ago so he has a good understanding of marketing/exposure.
I donno. In the linked article the kid had already been warned after being caught selling CDs in the mall. He had been issued a criminal trespass warning.
There is probably surveillance video. This is one I’d like to see more then the clip show.
