Pubdate: Sun, 24 Aug 2003
Source: St. Petersburg Times (FL)
Copyright: 2003 St. Petersburg Times
Contact:  http://www.sptimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/419
Author: John Chase, Palm Harbor

FORFEITURE IS A TOOL OF MEDIEVAL TIMES

Re: Police too addicted to lure of easy money, by Robyn Blumner.

- -- Thanks to Blumner for writing so persuasively about property forfeiture, 
one of the linchpins of the drug war, that "other" endless war. Both wars 
are perpetuated by public fear and official conflicts of interest, and both 
are costing us cherished legal traditions.

Our elected officials alarm us about "drugs," about "terror," about 
whatever, and begin building their careers countering that threat. While 
most of them do have good motives, the effect of their taking of the 
property of powerless people without bringing charges, much less a 
conviction, sets us back to medieval times when the "king's men" had free 
rein to control the king's subjects.

When Congress wrote the legislation to allow these abuses, they effectively 
ended the "rule of law" we once took such pride in, and established the 
"rule of men." It is happening so gradually and so rationally it is barely 
noticed.
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart