PDA

View Full Version : Big Forfeiture Case To Be Heard in Federal Court on Monday




Anti Federalist
02-10-2012, 03:35 PM
The ramifications of this, one way or the other, will be huge.



Big Forfeiture Case To Be Heard in Federal Court on Monday

Friday, February 10th, 2012

http://www.theagitator.com/2012/02/10/big-forfeiture-case-to-be-heard-in-federal-court-on-monday/

As you might expect, it’s an Institute for Justice case.

Imagine you own a million-dollar piece of property free and clear, but then the federal government and local law enforcement agents announce that they are going to take it from you, not compensate you one dime, and then use the money they get from selling your land to pad their budgets—all this even though you have never so much as been accused of a crime, let alone convicted of one.

That is the nightmare Russ Caswell and his family is now facing in Tewksbury, Mass., where they stand to lose the family-operated motel they have owned for two generations.

Seeking to circumvent state law and cash in on the profits, the Tewksbury Police Department is working with the U.S. Department of Justice to take and sell the Caswells property because a tiny fraction of people who have stayed at the Motel Caswell during the past 20 years have been arrested for crimes. Keep in mind, the Caswells themselves have worked closely with law enforcement officials to prevent and report crime on their property. And the arrests the government complains of represent less than .05 percent of the 125,000 rooms the Caswells have rented over that period of time.

Despite all this, the Caswells stand to lose literally everything they have worked for because of this effort by federal and local law enforcement officials not to pursue justice, but rather to police for profit.

The feds’ position is that the Caswells haven’t done enough to prevent drug crimes from occurring at the motel. There have been similar cases in the past in which law enforcement officials have demanded that businesses spend tens of thousands dollars to install outdoor lighting, hire security (sometimes off-duty cops from the same police agency, as it turns out), and take other expensive measures or risk losing their bar or motel or nightclub to forfeiture.

The Caswell’s case will be argued in a federal district court in Boston on Monday. More on civil asset forfeiture here.

And here’s an IJ video on the Caswell case:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcQlF-zDEL0&feature=player_embedded

phill4paul
02-10-2012, 03:44 PM
If he has to pay taxes on it then he's already acceded that the property belongs to the government. Also the fact that licensing requires government inspections and regulations. There are no property rights until they are acknowledged as 'private' and belong, in full, to an individual. It has and will remain an illusion.

Travlyr
02-10-2012, 03:54 PM
Amazing. This reminds me of what the ruling class did in Argentina just before their economic crash.

In-Your-Face ... What-Of-It ... Theft.

Anti Federalist
01-28-2013, 04:32 PM
Won his case, FedCoats are appealing

presence
01-28-2013, 05:07 PM
Federal court rules feds can't seize property just because illegal activity occurred on it
(http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?402454-Federal-court-rules-feds-can-t-seize-property-just-because-illegal-activity-occurred-on-it&highlight=Motel+Caswell)
Started by TywinLannister (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/member.php?42878-TywinLannister), 01-25-2013