re: Texas looking to abolish asset forfeiture, run into LEO resistance

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I should be able to "walk around" with a few thousand dollars in my pocket and not have to worry about it being stolen by some pigs. This isn't Nazi Germany.

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Exactly. It is MY money. Who cares how I carry it?

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just against seizing property without being charged with a crime?

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If you get convicted, you should expect to have your items seized that were used in the crime. At least then there was a trial and you had an attorney representing you.

As it stands now none of those protections are in place. In fact NY was one of a handful of states that kept you incarcerated pretrial for your criminal trial until your civil trial was over, only to then release you after they sold your stuff.

You would think this shite would be unconstitutional. Thank you conservative supreme court

Good for Texas getting rid of this unconstitutional practice. Now, if Louisiana can get Rayne to stop stealing peoples' money....

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i really want to start a group here to work on this issue

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The future begins today.

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i know they say it's "civil",

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That's just to avoid the hassle of legalities.

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I am no lawyer, but I just don't understand how it has passed constitutional muster. I'm assuming that it has been litigated in the higher courts by now.

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bro there was a recent USSC case where the USSC agreed with the federal government after they froze an accused person's bank accounts, which prevented him from hiring his own attorney during the prosecution. he was nowhere near convicted for any crime and was prevented from using his own money to hire his own lawyer to defend himself

that's how bad it is

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bro there was a recent USSC case where the USSC agreed with the federal government after they froze an accused person's bank accounts, which prevented him from hiring his own attorney during the prosecution. he was nowhere near convicted for any crime and was prevented from using his own money to hire his own lawyer to defend himself

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It's actually pretty genius. If they seize everyone's money, they can make everyone have a public defender. Just imagine the conviction rate after that...

You'd think the legal lobby would realize that private criminal defense might be a thing of the past and fight this.

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If this is considered a "reasonable" seizure despite the lack of due process, then the 4th amendment is essentially worthless.

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Scalia et al essentially repealed the 4th amendment on their own years ago.

Is what it is

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replacing the funds law enforcement agencies are almost certain to lose with the repeal of civil asset forfeiture.

And many law enforcement agencies aren’t going to give up without a fight, according to Charley Wilkison, executive director of the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT). Wilkison and Smith, of SAPD, said they will be at the Capitol to oppose Burton’s bill.

“And I would be surprised if you didn’t hear from mayors and city managers and other officials who have to deal with budget issues,” Wilkison said.

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So, the opposition to the bill is based on budgetary needs? What the frick?! If the budget gets bad enough and we need to just confiscate all the property, money and assets of every citizen, will that be OK, too?

Kudos to the Senator for introducing this bill. If the legislature is even making a pretense at respecting the constitution and treating its citizens fairly, it SHOULD pass unanimously. The fact that it likely won't pass at all in Texas and wouldn't pass in any other state or at the federal level should tell you all you need to know about the state and the federal governments with regard to this issue.