The Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches and seizures extends to the length of a seizure, a federal court ruled last week, significantly restricting how long law enforcement can retain private property after an arrest.
"When the government seizes property incident to a lawful arrest, the Fourth Amendment requires that any continued possession of the property must be reasonable," wrote Judge Gregory Katsas of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in a unanimous ruling.
Good. Maybe this will stop the cash grab a lot of police agencies are involved with. One tip I got from an HP officer was they would not "take" any vehicle that had a lot of debt tied to it. So if you are going to be a criminal do not pay for your car all at once.
ReplyDeleteMost drug dealers and other high-class thugs rent cars. And change them out weekly. Come in, trade, head out.
DeleteNow, if I try to rent a car, here comes the paperwork colonoscopy...
This is sooooooo overdue.
ReplyDeleteI hope this crosses over to fight civil asset forfieture.
ReplyDeleteA guy I knew had multiple collector firearms plus competition firearms taken from his home by Sheriff deputies. They broke into his safe after he refused to open it.
ReplyDeleteWhen he finally got his guns back, not all of them were returned. Those had gotten 'lost' from the evidence locker. Several of the ones he did get back had parts switched out for lower quality. Like an entire match grade trigger group swapped for lesser or a barrel traded for a worn out barrel. The collector arms had gouges or scratches.
I think a law won't prevent that.
"continued possession of the property must be reasonable" is a good start.
DeleteBut complete personal immunity from any and all liability has to go. It's not going to be good enough for the wronged citizen like your example to sue and be compensated by the city or state unless the individual cop is nailed to the wall. That includes jail time.
My oldest brother has been fighting with the ATF to get all of his firearms back after they were stolen a few years back. He eventually got most if not all of them back (I believe) and while the damage done to his is not on par with your example, he had to do some serious work on many of them. They still hold a couple to this day, including the Chicom semi-auto pistol he brought back from Viet Nam.
DeleteGood. I hated that cops could do that.
ReplyDeleteOrcs are nasty creatures. They do evil deeds in support of an evil empire. Orcs and the orc nest should all be assisted in obtaining room temperature. Avoid the orc. There might Soon be a time when it will be orc hunting season.
ReplyDeleteOf course, "reasonable" is one of THOSE words...
ReplyDeleteIf you're not arrested & they just seize your belongings you have to get a lawyer to get your stuff (cash!) back.
ReplyDelete