Civil forfeiture - crazy stuff (John Oliver show)

[MrBrown]

Another way in which Canada is (still) much better than the U.S.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kEpZWGgJks

 

[clu]

The law was overhauled only last week:

http://boingboing.net/2015/01/16/eric-holders-no-more-civil-fo.html

Though it's not a complete solution. Also Canada does have civil forfeiture laws too. They're just more... civil.

 

[sensualsixty]

Clu, you need to read the reports on BC's civil forfeiture actions. Recently The Globe and Mail reported on a case where a home owner nearly lost his home because a tenant was growing pot. The tenant was not charged, so the owner could not evict the tenant, but the owner almost lost his house. Just one of many cases reported in the Globe and Mail.

 

[cancowboy2001]

Clu, you need to read the reports on BC's civil forfeiture actions. Recently The Globe and Mail reported on a case where a home owner nearly lost his home because a tenant was growing pot. The tenant was not charged, so the owner could not evict the tenant, but the owner almost lost his house. Just one of many cases reported in the Globe and Mail.

Link to the article
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...ure-case-without-explanation/article22482894/

 

[Larry Storch]

From what I recall the owner of the house was warned three times about this illegal marijuana grower and never did anything.

From the article: Josef Schwarz was in a catch-22. The tenant living in his rental property was accused of being involved in drug activity, but provincial law stipulated he could not evict her unless she was convicted of a crime....Mr. Schwarz said in court documents that the Residential Tenancy Branch advised him he could not evict his tenant, since no conviction was associated with the property and there was no damage, or negative impact on other tenants.

If the RCMP came to you and told you that your tenant was breaking the law and you should evict them, would you give the RCMP the finger not once not twice but three times by not listening to their warnings?

If the tenant was committing a crime then the RCMP should have arrested them.
From the article:The court documents did not indicate why the tenant was not charged...He said he encouraged the RCMP to pursue criminal charges, and in April, 2013, met with his tenant, who assured him there would be no further problems. The third raid happened four days later.

The landlord was receiving drug money from the tenant for the rent.

Yes, probably, but the Landlord isn't responsible for where the tenant gets their money from.

 

[westcoast555]

Not to be rude, but the video seemed to feature people who have unjustly suffered from civil forfeiture. From what I recall the owner of the house was warned three times about this illegal marijuana grower and never did anything. If the RCMP came to you and told you that your tenant was breaking the law and you should evict them, would you give the RCMP the finger not once not twice but three times by not listening to their warnings?


The landlord was receiving drug money from the tenant for the rent.

You guys are missing the point. The issue is that in the US the cops in the street and on the road directly confiscate property. At least in Canada there is a judge issuing a verdict on proceeds of crime seizures. In the US it's completely out of control and the cops are just seizing drug money for profit, or any other cash they arbitrarily deem as being drug money. It's insane.

 

[badbadboy]

^ ^

Exactly, it's the cops wanting to be robbers. It's crazy that they have the power to confiscate at will.

 

[Larry Storch]

You guys are missing the point. The issue is that in the US the cops in the street and on the road directly confiscate property. At least in Canada there is a judge issuing a verdict on proceeds of crime seizures. In the US it's completely out of control and the cops are just seizing drug money for profit, or any other cash they arbitrarily deem as being drug money. It's insane.

I get it actually. I looked at the video and have seen others about the same thing. America: "Home of the free."

Thanks Larry for adding those details for me.

No worries, just clarifying.

 

[booblover]

There was a show on 60 minutes featuring civil forfeiture in one of the southern States. They were showing how the cops where pulling over ever out of State driver and trying to tickets them for any bull shit charge they could lay. The they would go after the car. They were caught loading up a convicted drug dealer's Cadillac with kilo's of coke (the car was searched on the roadside foe a few hours and they found nothing. The car was then towed to the police station and searched some more. It just happens that the search was caught on camera from a dash cam of another cop car. It showed the police chief and the highway officer stuffing a few kilo's into the trunk of the suspect). It all hit court but by that time the video tape had been erased even though it was in the police evidence vault. Funny thing was the cops were using the funds from the vehicle auctions to come to Whistler for ski trips!