Posted on 08/26/2014 10:41:36 AM PDT by george76
Chris Sourovelis has never had any trouble with the law or been accused of any crime. But that hasn’t stopped the City of Philadelphia from trying to take his home.
The Sourouvelis family, along with thousands of others in Philadelphia, is living a Kafkaesque nightmare: Their property is considered guilty; they must prove their innocence and the very prosecutors they’re fighting can profit from their misery. Now the Institute for Justice has filed a major class-action lawsuit to end these abuses of power.
Back in March, Chris’s son was caught selling $40 worth of drugs outside of the home. With no previous arrests or a prior record, a court ordered him to attend rehab. But the very day Sourovelis was driving his son to begin treatment, he got a frantic call from his wife. Without any prior notice, police evicted the Sourovelises and seized the house, using a little-known law known as “civil forfeiture.”
...
Under civil forfeiture, property owners do not have to be convicted of a crime, or even charged with one, to permanently lose their property. Instead, the government can forfeit a property if it’s found to “facilitate” a crime, no matter how tenuous the connection. So rather than sue the owner, in civil forfeiture proceedings, the government sues the property itself,
...
the owners who want to defend themselves and retrieve their seized property must venture to the Orwellian-sounding Courtroom 478. Despite its name, there are neither judges nor juries in Courtroom 478. Instead, there are only assistant district attorneys and a scheduler, who deal with up to 80 forfeiture cases in a single day.
With the prosecutors running this kangaroo court, the DA’s Office clearly wields enormous power.
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
Philadelphia.
Sh*T hole.
Synonyms.
Reminds me of the CA Franchise Tax Board.
5.56mm
up to 80 forfeiture cases a day
ASTOUNDING ABUSE!
maybe Obie can take over operations there?
Thank the First Prez Bush for putting this kind of stuff in place.
And the law and order types here wonder why there's so much animosity towards law enforcement these days. Most of the people rate police below your average mob enforcer. At least with the mob, you know where you stand. The cops and the government are too fickle, and unpredictable.
Looks like somebody is finally fighting back against “the system” ....... what’s that phrase again? turning over a rock and see cockroaches run?
Step 1. - Find the Mayors House
Step 2. - Get a thug to buy some drugs on it from another thug.
Step 3. Call in the crime and watch the mayor lose his house...
Oh wait, the politicans are above the law...
The problem there is that the forfeiture hearing is classified as “due process.”
Which is ludicrous on its face. But until a court rules that it isn’t due process, they’ve got a free run.
I had heard of cars and boats being confiscated, but not houses or other real property.
This has shades of Spanish Inquisition to it. You could pay a loser to do a small drug deal in someone's yard. Seize their house as a result. Then drop the charges against the loser after the forfeiture hearing.
I wonder which political party runs Philadelphia and has for decades...
Civil forfeiture is not Constitutional. It’s a crime disguised as a government action.
The only good thing left in Philly is cheesesteaks. And since my wife can make them just as good I shall never set foot in Philly again.
I would have no problem with forfeiture if it only applied:
1) To the property of individuals or groups actually found guilty of a crime, and
2) To property that was actually instrumental in the commission of the crime (for example, a vehicle used for smuggling, but not one where the owner is merely caught for possession), or purchased from the proceeds of crime.
Your current asset forfeiture laws are clearly not compatible with a country that claims to believe in freedom, property rights, and the due process of law.
Eat yer government cheese and quit yer complaining! Vote Democrat and maybe you’ll get some government crackers to go along with yer government cheese. You think you got problems? That earthquake in California shook up all my expensive wine! Now, quit yer complaining and eat your government cheese and vote Democrat so I can enjoy my lobster.
The founders would have escorted the likes of these out of their homes by now, at the culmination of a torchlight parade. Just saying.
Actually W. Wilson Goode tried the whole torch thing in Philly. It didn’t pan out so well.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.