07-21-2017, 05:59 PM
Asset forfeiture is appropriate for
1. objects apparently used in the commission of a crime. So one busts a pimp with some runaway girls having been turned into prostitutes... and he is apparently transporting his 'wares' in a late-model "Pimpmobile". The vehicle could reasonably be seized but stored for a return to the accused in the event of a non-conviction. The video equipment in use by a creator, distributor, or user of child porn could be seized and put under custody for return in the event of a non-conviction. This would be true whether it is camera equipment or studio props in use in making the stuff, a supplier's vehicle used in transporting it, or a porn user's television and playback gear -- maybe the sofa on which he sits to watch it.
2. Perishables to be sold on the fair market or supplied to the general public for purposes of welfare. Proceeds must be held in trust for return to someone not convicted.
3. Overt contraband, like counterfeit coins and goods, illegal drugs, illegal weapons, child porn, material in violation of the Endangered Species Act, or devices used in illicit gambling. Most of this can be destroyed because there could be no lawful owner.
4. Revenue in whole or part used in the commission of a crime or proceeds of a crime. Again, the funds should not be disbursed or goodies sold until a conviction is made. Property should be kept in escrow.
5. Stolen goods that are otherwise licit -- to be returned to lawful owners or insurance companies for which a claim is made.
1. objects apparently used in the commission of a crime. So one busts a pimp with some runaway girls having been turned into prostitutes... and he is apparently transporting his 'wares' in a late-model "Pimpmobile". The vehicle could reasonably be seized but stored for a return to the accused in the event of a non-conviction. The video equipment in use by a creator, distributor, or user of child porn could be seized and put under custody for return in the event of a non-conviction. This would be true whether it is camera equipment or studio props in use in making the stuff, a supplier's vehicle used in transporting it, or a porn user's television and playback gear -- maybe the sofa on which he sits to watch it.
2. Perishables to be sold on the fair market or supplied to the general public for purposes of welfare. Proceeds must be held in trust for return to someone not convicted.
3. Overt contraband, like counterfeit coins and goods, illegal drugs, illegal weapons, child porn, material in violation of the Endangered Species Act, or devices used in illicit gambling. Most of this can be destroyed because there could be no lawful owner.
4. Revenue in whole or part used in the commission of a crime or proceeds of a crime. Again, the funds should not be disbursed or goodies sold until a conviction is made. Property should be kept in escrow.
5. Stolen goods that are otherwise licit -- to be returned to lawful owners or insurance companies for which a claim is made.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.