Civil forfeiture is becoming more and more of an issue in the United States. Many jurisdictions allow police to simply take money from people, and keep it, even if those who lose the money never are accused of a crime.
That’s been a standard for many years, until just recently when people started fighting back.
Of late, there have been several decisions that say police departments, which often want to simply keep the money for their own budgets, no longer can grab the cash and spend it.
The Institute for Justice is reporting the latest victory in that fight.
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
It was a ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which said a Rochester woman is entitled to make her case in front of a judge nearly three years after Rochester police took more than $8,000 from her without charging her with a crime.
The IJ reported, “Cristal Starling previously lost her $8,000 when—representing herself in her civil forfeiture case—she missed one of several deadlines to contest the forfeiture. Cristal appealed, represented by the Institute for Justice (IJ), and the 2nd Circuit held that Cristal should not lose her money forever because of a single missed deadline.”
“Today’s decision will have important consequences for civil forfeiture victims who are trying to navigate complicated forfeiture procedures, often without help from a lawyer,” said IJ lawyer Rob Johnson. “If the government wants to take your money, they should have to prove you did something wrong—not trip you up with legal procedures.”
The police took the money in 2020 when they raided her apartment because they thought her boyfriend at the time was dealing drugs.
He was charged, and acquitted.
Crystal never was charged.
WND is now on Trump’s Truth Social! Follow us @WNDNews
Even so, “police took $8,040—which she was planning to use to buy a food truck—from her, through a process called civil forfeiture. They then transferred the money to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, where it’s been ever since,” the IJ said.
She worked on her own to reclaim her money, but tripped up by missing a single deadline, and a district judge said that cost her her money forever.
She than worked with the IJ to appeal.
The appeals court said, if anything, “civil forfeiture procedure magnifies the importance of deciding such cases on the merits rather than by default.”
Further, it noted the incentive for police. “The authorities can pocket what they can seize by forfeit.”
IMPORTANT NOTE: To their horror, America’s ruling elites failed to knock out Donald Trump during his four years as president via the fabricated Trump-Russia collusion scandal – conceived and funded by the Hillary Clinton campaign, as the Durham report proves – or through two circus-like impeachment trials. Later came “January 6,” a demonstration-turned-riot by Trump supporters who passionately believed, with good reason, that the recent election – and therefore their country – had just been stolen from them. Members of Congress now want to constitutionally bar Trump from again seeking public office for having instigated “an armed insurrection” (no protester was armed) against America.
Then in March, Trump was indicted in New York on 34 counts of falsifying business records, and in June, still more indictments were filed against Trump – 37 federal criminal charges related to his handling of classified documents. Honest legal experts not in league with the Biden administration openly classify these indictments as somewhere between frivolous and idiotic, not to mention grotesquely politically motivated.
The Deep State’s never-ending persecution of Donald Trump, as well as the incredible back story of the totalitarian agenda Trump’s persecutors are attempting to implement in America and why Trump represents a mortal threat to their nefarious designs – is the focus of the blockbuster July issue of WND’s critically acclaimed monthly Whistleblower magazine, titled “THE PERSECUTION OF DONALD TRUMP: Why the ruling elites loathe – and fear – the 45th president.”
WHISTLEBLOWER is available in both the popular print edition and a state-of-the-art digital version, either single issues or discounted annual subscriptions.
For 25 years, WND has boldly brought you the news that really matters. If you appreciate our Christian journalists and their uniquely truthful reporting and analysis, please help us by becoming a WND Insider!
Content created by the WND News Center is available for re-publication without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@wndnewscenter.org.
SUPPORT TRUTHFUL JOURNALISM. MAKE A DONATION TO THE NONPROFIT WND NEWS CENTER. THANK YOU!
This article was originally published by the WND News Center.
Related:
- Report: Several States Take Bold Steps To End Civil Asset Forfeiture’s Deprivation Of Property Rights
- It’s Your Money, Or Is It?
- Thieving Cops Rob Innocent Woman of $100k, Send Her on Her Way, Then Brag About it On Facebook
- Ruben Gallego, Democrat, Calls for Seizing Trucks of DC Convoy. Is DC Gearing Up for a Police Action?
Turn your back on Big Tech oligarchs and join the New Resistance NOW! Facebook, Google, and other members of the Silicon Valley Axis of Evil are now doing everything they can to deliberately silence conservative content online, so please be sure to check out our MeWe page here, check us out at ProAmerica Only and follow us at Parler, SocialCross, Speak Your Mind Here, and Gab. You can also follow us on Truth Social here, Twitter at @co_firing_line, and at the social media site set up by members of Team Trump, GETTR.
While you’re at it, be sure to check out our friends at Whatfinger News, the Internet’s conservative front-page founded by ex-military!
And be sure to check out our friends at Trending Views:
