When seizure & forfeiture laws were enacted we stated that the laws would turn police into bounty hunters. The cities which had S&F laws would place the funds attained from the sale of confiscated property into the general fund and then tell the police department that their budget was cut by that amount because they would make up the shortfall with seized assets.
If you want to see what S&F laws do, simply go to
http://fear.org/ which is the official webpage of Forfeiture Endangers American Rights. I have met Brenda Grantland and Judy Osburn and they are very dedicated.
Click the link "What's new at FEAR" to see what victories have been won against this American embarrassment.
When I lived in California I protested every Dan Lundgren appearance. Lundgren is the father of forfeiture. He took piracy law and turned it into a national piggy bank.
Every S&F law has five assets, four of which are legal commodities, which are always listed with specificity:
Drugs
Cash
Real property
Vehicles
Firearms
I have met several victims of S&F who were totally innocent of any wrongdoing but who were targeted for their assets.
The most famous case was the attempted S&F of the Trail's End Ranch by the Los Angeles Sheriff's Office which resulted in the death of Donald Scott. What was the key suspicious activity that brought Scott and his wife Frances Plante? They said that she had been seen spending $100 bills on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. Did I mention that Scott was a multi-millionaire?
Although the entrance to the ranch was in L.A. County, the actual ranch resides in Ventura County. The Ventura County District Attorney, Michael Bradbury, ruled that asset forfeiture was the motive for the raid. Note in the link below who slammed Michael Bradbury for his determination -- California Attorney General Dan Lungren.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_P._Scott
I am still in possession of one of the few copies of the Bradbury report that were issued at the time. I simply asked for one and they sent it to me. A friend saw it and called to ask for one and they told him that the report was no longer being issued to the public.
