re: #322 Cannadian Club Akbar

Being convicted of possesion results in losing your DL for a year. Same if you get caught trying to pick up a hooker. Not kidding.

There was a nice series last month in the detroit press about Michigan’s forfeiture laws and now reason mag posted a Balko piece about forfeiture laws across the country. After reading about how screwed up the forfeiture laws in Indiana are I’d like to apologize to the michigan people I harassed about their state.

reason.com

The Forfeiture Racket

Over the past three decades, it has become routine in the United States for state, local, and federal governments to seize the property of people who were never even charged with, much less convicted of, a crime. Nearly every year, according to Justice Department statistics, the federal government sets new records for asset forfeiture. And under many state laws, the situation is even worse: State officials can seize property without a warrant and need only show “probable cause” that the booty was connected to a drug crime in order to keep it, as opposed to the criminal standard of proof “beyond a reasonable doubt.” Instead of being innocent until proven guilty, owners of seized property all too often have a heavier burden of proof than the government officials who stole their stuff.