New Mexico: Governor Signs Bill on Civil Forfeiture

[TBoneTX 43,058]

[posted as a regular member]

Do you (dis)agree with the governor's signing of this bill? Do you (dis)agree that people's property and due-process rights are better protected? Discuss.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/11/us/new-mexico-governor-signs-bill-on-civil-forfeiture.html?_r=0

New Mexico: Governor Signs Bill on Civil Forfeiture
By SHAILA DEWAN

APRIL 10, 2015

Gov. Susana Martinez signed a bill Friday virtually ending the practice of civil forfeiture, making the state a leader in sharply restricting a contentious policy that critics say deprives citizens of due process and gives law enforcement a profit motive. “This is landmark legislation to protect people’s property and due process rights,” said Lee McGrath, a lawyer with the Institute for Justice, a libertarian civil rights group that has long campaigned against the practice. The law preserves criminal forfeiture, in which assets tied to crime can be taken if the owner is convicted. In a letter to lawmakers, Governor Martinez said the law improved constitutional protections even as she said that forfeiture funds had helped “in keeping our communities safe and in protecting our officers from harm.” Only one other state, North Carolina, does not permit civil forfeiture, but law enforcement officials there can still profit from forfeitures by cooperating with federal agents, Mr. McGrath said. The New Mexico law seeks to end such profit-sharing in cases where the assets are valued at less than $50,000. Civil forfeiture, in which law enforcement officials can take possession of property they believe is tied to criminal activity without filing charges or winning a conviction, has come under fire as abuses have been widely chronicled in the news media and the federal government has taken steps to curb the process.

[Pooky 3,348]

Law enforcement should only be able to exact forfeiture when wrongdoing has been proven in a court of law. Anything else appears to be little more than legalized theft.

[TBoneTX 43,058]

The Des Moines Register had a lengthy series of articles just last month about Iowa's civil-forfeiture laws, which are said to be among the worst in the nation. Most people simply gave in rather than fought, because the legal fees would have eaten up or exceeded whatever funds were taken from them.

Edited to add: Here's a master link to the various articles:

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/search/forfeiture/

Edited April 12, 2015 by TBoneTX

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Law enforcement should only be able to exact forfeiture when wrongdoing has been proven in a court of law. Anything else appears to be little more than legalized theft.

It should also be made explicitly transparent what the money raised from the seized assets have been used for.

[TBoneTX 43,058]

In at least one instance, the funds were used for fish tanks and other decorations.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

There should always be due process. Period.

[Póg mo 1,749]

[posted as a regular member]

Do you (dis)agree with the governor's signing of this bill? Do you (dis)agree that people's property and due-process rights are better protected? Discuss.

---

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/11/us/new-mexico-governor-signs-bill-on-civil-forfeiture.html?_r=0

New Mexico: Governor Signs Bill on Civil Forfeiture

By SHAILA DEWAN

APRIL 10, 2015

Gov. Susana Martinez signed a bill Friday virtually ending the practice of civil forfeiture, making the state a leader in sharply restricting a contentious policy that critics say deprives citizens of due process and gives law enforcement a profit motive. This is landmark legislation to protect peoples property and due process rights, said Lee McGrath, a lawyer with the Institute for Justice, a libertarian civil rights group that has long campaigned against the practice. The law preserves criminal forfeiture, in which assets tied to crime can be taken if the owner is convicted. In a letter to lawmakers, Governor Martinez said the law improved constitutional protections even as she said that forfeiture funds had helped in keeping our communities safe and in protecting our officers from harm. Only one other state, North Carolina, does not permit civil forfeiture, but law enforcement officials there can still profit from forfeitures by cooperating with federal agents, Mr. McGrath said. The New Mexico law seeks to end such profit-sharing in cases where the assets are valued at less than $50,000. Civil forfeiture, in which law enforcement officials can take possession of property they believe is tied to criminal activity without filing charges or winning a conviction, has come under fire as abuses have been widely chronicled in the news media and the federal government has taken steps to curb the process.

Good on him, he must be taking his cue from Eric Holder, who recently banned states from using Federal law to seize cash, cars and other property without warrants or criminal charges.