As a part of my community I just would like to hear all the details in some of these cases against those in my State - but that is not part of the process . There is no impetus for a court hearing or openness of facts under this law .

It costs $15000 to defend against a forfeiture that doesnt require charges or a court hearing , and any defense against it is all on the person whose belongings were taken . They are assumed guilty . Law Enforcement just needs a few forms and search warrant from a Court they work with daily . So pretty much people are intimidated by the additional cost of a second court hearing on charges gullty or not and just sulk away, caught up in life ,.... victims of forfeiture will always be advised to just let anything under $15k go and forget it .

But heres the real rub . If their just a little guilty or honestly scared of false arrest and evidence like we know happens in some cases ...(we had one retired Judge scolded last year in Detroit for allowing perjury for the " right " reasons to occur in their courtroom in a high profile drug case ) . You can maybe take $50k or more of stuff and use it daily as your own and nobody will do anything . The margins are fabulous along with the fun . You can always find people that won't fight back even when their innocent .

The Forfeiture law keeps our communities ,confused ,and distracted about the failings of Goverment in this economy , the real results of the war on drugs with failed treatment programs , corruption and gives them villian's to appease them . It appears the only way to change this law wouldbe to impose forfeiture on our public officials elected offices that support it - not that there are enough citizens that care . Further its use is so engrained in law and practise it will still take decades even then to eradicate it . We are seeing similar evidence in the discrimination towards medical cannabis patients it is often used against .

Whether or not you believe this policy is a good idea and all Law Enformcement Officers are capable of proper discretion ; you have to agree : It sure must be fun playing with regular peoples toys and property seized under a law that was originally supposed to be only used against large drug cartels not private Citizens unable to defend against it .

A law operating under the cover of the drug war subject to abuse and causing distrust of Law Enforcement , even death and misery motivating armed invasions of homes . A law that assumes you are gulity until you prove your innocent ; which is very difficult if not impossible to prove as some unfortunates find out . A law that is pitting neighbor against neighbor as they point back and forth declaring I am not the bad one go over there , get them , and wheres my reward . I need the money for my habbits .

Et Tu Brute ?

http://endo.tv/3168/police/police-caught-on-tape-abusing-forfeiture-laws

http://en.wikipedia....Donald_P._Scott

http://forfeitureref...ounty-michigan/

http://www.isil.org/...of-america.html

http://www.fear.org/

"America will never be destroyed from the outside . If we falter and loose our freedoms it will be because we destroyed ourselves ." A. Lincoln First President of the Republican Party , Jackson , Michigan.

"Prohibition. . . goes beyond the bound of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded" -Abraham Lincoln