Originally Posted By: Al
Originally Posted By: Benito
The apologists have been ignoring the constitution and giving the police inch after inch after inch, so they've taken a mile.
Can you give an example of how an apologist has ignored the Constitution. I am looking for one verified real life example..the name of the "apologist", how he ignored the Constitution and how it has led to the police "taking a mile"...and a mile of what???
Sure. I posted a story on Civil Forfeiture in another thread.
This Nebraska sheriff is unhappy that his ability to confiscate property from legally innocent people is being restricted.
Quote:
There’s also a lesson here about how difficult it can be to undo bad laws. These forfeiture laws were mostly passed at the height of 1980s drug-war panic, usually with little debate and by overwhelming majorities. Although most people are aghast when they hear how civil forfeiture work in practice, it has taken decades of persistent court challenges from groups like IJ and the ACLU, activism from advocacy groups, investigative reporting from media organizations and victims coming forward with their stories to get even modest reforms. I think Holder’s new policy is important, but it does contain some potentially large loopholes, and it could be undone by the next attorney general or the next administration.
It’s very easy to demand politicians “do something” or “do anything” when we’re in the middle of a crisis, real or perceived. But rash legislating can have prolonged, devastating consequences. Forfeiture made police agencies dependent on the bounty of seized property. What began as an unexpected injection of cash eventually became a line item in the “revenue” column of police budgets. That created a pretty powerful constituency invested in preserving the status quo. Mayors and city councils could also become dependent — the portion of police budgets that comes from proceeds is a portion the city can spend elsewhere. Now, any politician who wants to reform civil forfeiture laws risks the wrath of police organizations and their supporters.
We should be cognizant of how easy it can be to give up our civil liberties in times of crisis. We need to remember that it’s usually a [censored] of a struggle to win them back.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-...forfeiture-law/