Politics Protecting our 5th Amendment

Discussion in 'Blazers OT Forum' started by MARIS61, Apr 20, 2015.

  1. MARIS61

    MARIS61 Real American

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    A Tip of The Cap to a Real American, New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez. :cheers:

    New Mexico Governor Signs Historic Property Rights Protections into Law

    SANTA FE, NM—Today, Governor Susana Martinez signed HB 560 into law, ending the practice of civil asset forfeiture in New Mexico. Civil asset forfeiture, also known as “policing for profit,” allows law enforcement officers to seize personal property without ever charging—much less convicting—a person with a crime. Property seized through this process often finds its way into the department’s own coffers. HB 560, introduced by NM Rep. Zachary Cook and passed unanimously in the legislature, replaces civil asset forfeiture with criminal forfeiture, which requires a conviction of a person as a prerequisite to losing property tied to a crime. The new law means that New Mexico now has the strongest protections against wrongful asset seizures in the country.
    “This is a good day for the Bill of Rights,” said ACLU-NM Executive Director Peter Simonson. “For years police could seize people’s cash, cars, and houses without even accusing anyone of a crime. Today, we have ended this unfair practice in New Mexico and replaced it with a model that is just and constitutional.”
    “With this law, New Mexico leads the nation in protecting the property rights of innocent Americans,” said Paul Gessing, President of the Rio Grande Foundation. “Convicted criminals will still see the fruits of their crime confiscated by the state, but innocent New Mexicans can now rest easy knowing that their property will never be seized by police without proper due process.”
    “New Mexico has succeeded today in reigning in one of the worst excesses of the drug war,” said Emily Kaltenbach, State Director for Drug Policy Alliance’s New Mexico office “Like other drug war programs, civil asset forfeiture is disproportionately used against poor people of color who cannot afford to hire lawyers to get their property back. This law is an important step towards repairing some of the damage the drug war has inflicted upon our society and system of justice.”
    “New Mexico has shown that ending policing for profit is a true bipartisan issue with broad public support,” said Lee McGrath, Legislative Counsel for the Institute of Justice. “America is ready to end civil asset forfeiture, a practice which is not in line with our values or constitution. This law shows that we can be tough on crime without stripping property away from innocent Americans.”
    Bipartisan legislation has already been introduced in both houses of Congress that would dramatically reform federal civil asset forfeiture laws. The Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration (FAIR) Act has been introduced in the Senate by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), Sen. Angus King (I-ME) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT). In the House, Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ), Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-CA), Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) introduced an identical version of the FAIR Act.


    http://www.errorsofenchantment.com/...istoric-property-rights-protections-into-law/
     
  2. magnifier661

    magnifier661 B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

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    That's really cool!
     
  3. MarAzul

    MarAzul LongShip

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    Republicans should run her for President with Mitt Romney as VP. Pull the Hispanic vote and the Women vote along with the Republicans.
    Let Romney do his economic thing and she can handle the Media. Watch Hillary scramble.
     
  4. MarAzul

    MarAzul LongShip

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    Add Carly Fiorina to the team as SS or something and let her chew Hillary's tail the whole time.
     
  5. Denny Crane

    Denny Crane It's not even loaded! Staff Member Administrator

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    Interesting they don't mention she's a republican, but are happy to talk about bipartisan legislation and list the party affiliation of the sponsors.

    ACLU and Republicans agree on this?
     
  6. jlprk

    jlprk The ESPN mod is insane.

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    Interesting that the article doesn't mention that Attorney General Eric Holder (who is hated by Republican blogs) did this on a national scale 3 months before the article. So the Republican New Mexico Attorney General is jumping onto the Eric Holder bandwagon. Good for her, but the article certainly isn't biased toward Democrats as you claim. It's biased against them, by not mentioning Holder's monumental change.

    http://www.drugpolicy.org/blog/holder-slashes-civil-asset-forfeiture

    http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/...r-ends-most-forms-of-federal-asset-forfeiture
     
  7. Denny Crane

    Denny Crane It's not even loaded! Staff Member Administrator

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    Thanks for playing. They list political affiliation for several others.
     
  8. jlprk

    jlprk The ESPN mod is insane.

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    I found this thread, searching for the best Rand Paul thread. This wasn't it.

    Did you just say that you're smarter than Eric Holder? Republicans wanted to retain him so much, they stalled for months approving his replacement.
     
  9. Denny Crane

    Denny Crane It's not even loaded! Staff Member Administrator

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    He served in W's administration.

    Spin that.
     
  10. jlprk

    jlprk The ESPN mod is insane.

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    In the White House kitchen, or out on the lawn? How come Republican blogs don't ever say this? They're my main source, you know.
     
  11. Denny Crane

    Denny Crane It's not even loaded! Staff Member Administrator

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    He also was appointed by Reagan. Your hero.
     
  12. jlprk

    jlprk The ESPN mod is insane.

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    Both Republicans and Democrats kept that a secret. The former, so they could target him and Obama as bogeymen. The latter, to hide from their own party's voters the fact that both are conservative Democrats.

    What was his position? I guess I should read Wikipedia articles on everyone.
     
  13. Denny Crane

    Denny Crane It's not even loaded! Staff Member Administrator

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    He was appointed superior court judge by Reagan. Served as Atty General in W's.
     
  14. jlprk

    jlprk The ESPN mod is insane.

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    I didn't notice him till Republicans made him target practice and made him famous.
     
  15. oldmangrouch

    oldmangrouch persona non grata

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    Straying back to the original topic - this issue is a bit more complicated than this article makes out.

    There are actually 3 distinct situations that came into play with civil forfeiture.

    1) Criminal profits. ie the drug dealer's room full of cash, his porsche, etc. This is the area where the law tends to be abused.

    2) The criminal instrument. The gun used in the crime. The lab equipment used to make meth. Only a few 2nd amendment extremists object to these seizures.

    3) Stolen property. Just because the person escapes conviction, should they be allowed to keep what they stole from you?

    Reforming #1 is fine. If #2 and #3 get swept up in the process, tremendous harm will be done.
     
  16. Denny Crane

    Denny Crane It's not even loaded! Staff Member Administrator

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    If he stole from you to buy the Porsche?
     
  17. Denny Crane

    Denny Crane It's not even loaded! Staff Member Administrator

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    I like him just fine. I think he lied to congress though.
     
  18. oldmangrouch

    oldmangrouch persona non grata

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    Traditional civil forfeiture laws would mean the state could go after him even if something prevented a criminal conviction. Under the law being discussed - who knows? I don't trust the media to correctly report complex legal issues, and I lack the motivation to do extensive research. (unless you want to pay my hourly rate) :bgrin:
     
  19. Denny Crane

    Denny Crane It's not even loaded! Staff Member Administrator

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    It sure seems like a violation of several bits of the constitution to me. Innocent until proven guilty, for one. Right to life, liberty, and property, would be another.
     
  20. SlyPokerDog

    SlyPokerDog Woof! Staff Member Administrator

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    Why all the concern about 5ths but nothing about pints, flasks or kegs?
     

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