{"id":2075,"date":"2017-07-18T08:24:03","date_gmt":"2017-07-18T12:24:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.musingsbymichael.com\/blog\/?p=2075"},"modified":"2017-07-18T08:24:03","modified_gmt":"2017-07-18T12:24:03","slug":"forfeiture-of-assets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.musingsbymichael.com\/blog\/2017\/07\/18\/forfeiture-of-assets\/","title":{"rendered":"Forfeiture of assets"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Jeff<\/a><\/p>\n

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Jeff Sessions, our United States Attorney General, has jumped into the deep end with his announced development to increase forfeiture of assets.<\/span><\/p>\n

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What Sessions wants to do is seize assets of those who have not be indicted or charged with a crime! Per the AP<\/a>, \u201cThe Justice Department will soon make it easier for local law enforcement to seize cash and property from crime suspects and reap the proceeds, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Monday.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Furthermore Sessions said, \u201ca shift will be announced this week that will increase the use of asset forfeiture, especially for drug suspects. The practice has been criticized because it allows law enforcement to take possessions \u2014 such as cars and money \u2014 without indictments or evidence a crime has been committed<\/em>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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He justifies this by saying to a group of local prosecutors in Minnesota the following-<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cWith care and professionalism, we plan to develop policies to increase forfeitures. No criminal should be allowed to keep the proceeds of their crime.<\/em>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Criminal, what crime justifies taking assets (money, property) from someone without due process? This is not about legalities, this is about the money! Greed, pure greed is driving this forward.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Mr. Sessions I have to ask, what happened to the legal principal of \u201cInnocent until proven guilty?\u201d This is the basis of American Jurisprudence (Law) and we the American people should not stand for this money grab!<\/span><\/p>\n

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Per Nolo\u2019s Plain-English Law Dictionary<\/a> the definition of \u2018Presumption of Inocence\u2019 is, \u201cOne of the most sacred principles in the American criminal justice system, holding that a defendant is innocent until proven guilty. In other words, the prosecution must prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, each essential element of the crime charged<\/em>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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The violation of this principal shows how low the US Attorney General is prepared to go and he must be stopped before this abuse of the most sacred principals of American law is twisted into meaningless dribble.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Attorney General under the Obama administration, Eric Holder, said the following on this subject, \u201cnamely restricted the ability of the federal government to take possession of, or adopt, assets seized by local authorities, who could then share in the proceeds with their federal counterparts. Civil liberties groups and some members of Congress praised the move as a step toward reform because that practice made it easier for local authorities to circumvent state laws that were sometimes stricter than the federal ones governing seizures<\/em>.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Sesssions also stated, \u201cThe Justice Department sees the assets forfeiture program as a way to strip suspects of the proceeds of their activities, to deter crime and to compensate crime victims. An effort to expand it is in keeping with Sessions\u2019 tough-on-crime agenda, which he continued to espouse during Monday\u2019s speech<\/em>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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What nonsense this is; as to taking assets from those not yet having been trialed is just like what many dictatorships are very prone to do. This is American Mr. Sessions, not some third world dictatorship!<\/span><\/p>\n

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I urge everyone to contact their Senator or Congressman to tell them you oppose what Mr. Sessions wants to do.<\/span><\/p>\n

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That is my opinion- Jumpin Jersey Mike<\/span><\/p>\n