I hate reading about cases like this. Rhetorical question: is the scourge of (illegal-by-decree) drugs so horrific that we as a society have to forfeit all of our rights as citizens?
Dispatches from the Culture Wars: Do Nothing Wrong, Forfeit Your Money
...The government's case here is laughable. When they found the money, they took Gonzolez and the rental car to the police station and had a drug dog sniff it over. The dog indicated that there was drug residue on the money. But studies have shown that over 75% of the bills in circulation have drug residue on them. The cops tested this by having the dog sniff the money found in the car and then sniff a total of 7 bills from police officers, and the dog reacted to the cash found in the car, not to the cash from the police. And that's it, folks. That is the sum total of the evidence against him.On the other hand, consider that the man had no prior record at all of drug involvement. Consider that three people testified at the trial, and produced documentation, that they had pooled their money and sent the man to Chicago to purchase a refrigerated truck for the produce business they were starting (when he got there, he found out the truck had already been sold). Consider that none of those men had any record of drug involvement either, and that the government could not impeach their testimony at all.
The worst part, other than the government won the appeal, is that there was no underlying crime even proven! So, just because the police have suspicions about how you obtained your mound of Krugerrands, they can, by law, seize them, and keep them, just because they are the police, and you are not. Unless, of course, you are a Exxon-Mobil executive. Then, you get a tax break or pat on the head, or more likely, an invitation to contribute to a political action fund.
Tags: civil_liberties, /drugs
