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The State of New Mexico has just banned asset forfeiture. HB 560, introduced by New Mexico Rep. Zachary Cook and passed unanimously in the legislature, replace

The State of New Mexico has just banned asset forfeiture. HB 560, introduced by New Mexico Rep. Zachary Cook and passed unanimously in the legislature, replaces civil asset forfeiture with criminal forfeiture, which requires a conviction of a person as a prerequisite to losing property tied to a crime. The new law means that New Mexico now has the strongest protections against wrongful asset seizures in the country. Link to the bill: http://www.nmlegis.gov/Sessions/15%20Regular/final/HB0560.pdf http://www.nmlegis.gov/Sessions/15%20Regular/final/HB0560.pd...

fsck--off 11y ago
The WaPo article (the submission) mentions this bill, but finishes: "But New Mexico's law only affects state law enforcement officials. As a result, in New Mexico — and everywhere else, for that matter — DEA agents will be able to board your train, ask you where you're going and take all your cash if they don't like your story, all without ever charging you with a crime."
- kzrdude 11y ago
  It sounds like a semi-criminalization of cash in practice.
  - spacemanmatt 11y ago
    Not at all. They steal bank accounts, boats, cars, and houses as well.
    - soylentcola 11y ago
      Sure, but I've got about as much money in my bank account (as opposed to cash) and nobody has ever asked me to prove it wasn't gained illicitly if I wanted it back. I've got friends with boats, I've owned cars, and currently living in a house owned by my SO. None of us has been targeted just for having those things. While I'm sure that they wouldn't hesitate to seize those assets if any of us were charged with some sort of drug offense, it doesn't come close to the way cash is treated. In this case and in others, the mere possession of a large sum of cash can be grounds for suspicion and seizure. It's like you don't really have a right to keep your money unless it's accessed via some plastic card or routing number.
      - maratd 11y ago
        > It's like you don't really have a right to keep your money unless it's accessed via some plastic card or routing number. They have an apparatus in place to track all of your money, as long as it's in electronic form. That way they can control your spending and make sure you don't spend it on things they don't like (drugs, prostitution, insert illegal behavior/good here). When you use cash, a method they have limited control over, the very act of using it becomes subversive. Why would you use cash unless you wanted to do something illegal with it? That's the question ringing in their minds. The very act of using cash becomes ground for suspicion.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
justthistime_ 11y ago
Doesn't this just mean that the will rob you _and_ additionally charge you with some made-up crime and let you rot in jail until you sign the plea deal?
- pionar 11y ago
  > additionally charge you with some made-up crime and let you rot in jail until you sign the plea deal There are supposed to be other protections for this. The sixth amendment, for instance, says: "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial...", which means that they can't just "let you rot in jail." In practice, though, sometimes you do rot in jail. :/
  - spacemanmatt 11y ago
    In the face of such tilted odds, some people consider themselves freedom fighters more than criminals. Perspective matters.
  - falcolas 11y ago
    Speedy public trials, in this day and age, can take a year or more from the time of conviction. That's a long time to spend in jail - a location where you have no real freedoms.
    - wahsd 11y ago
      That's the worst part of it, this process of flagrant violation of the Constitution. In essence, the government has become a treasonous organization in direct violation and contradiction to the Constitution. If the original authors could define a speedy trial in terms of days and a couple weeks, there is no rational justification for why in this day and age a speedy trial can't be a matter of minutes or hours, or at worst days. The most dangerous enemy is the one within and the traitor in your midst.
      - tracker1 11y ago
        Are minutes/hours/days really enough for a defense counsel? Many times not... the time it takes to get to trial isn't only a matter of the government letting you rot. Not to mention that a given backlog and limited number of judges, the formation of juries, etc.

fsck--off 11y ago

The WaPo article (the submission) mentions this bill, but finishes: "But New Mexico's law only affects state law enforcement officials. As a result, in New Mexico — and everywhere else, for that matter — DEA agents will be able to board your train, ask you where you're going and take all your cash if they don't like your story, all without ever charging you with a crime."

kzrdude 11y ago
It sounds like a semi-criminalization of cash in practice.
- spacemanmatt 11y ago
  Not at all. They steal bank accounts, boats, cars, and houses as well.
  - soylentcola 11y ago
    Sure, but I've got about as much money in my bank account (as opposed to cash) and nobody has ever asked me to prove it wasn't gained illicitly if I wanted it back. I've got friends with boats, I've owned cars, and currently living in a house owned by my SO. None of us has been targeted just for having those things. While I'm sure that they wouldn't hesitate to seize those assets if any of us were charged with some sort of drug offense, it doesn't come close to the way cash is treated. In this case and in others, the mere possession of a large sum of cash can be grounds for suspicion and seizure. It's like you don't really have a right to keep your money unless it's accessed via some plastic card or routing number.
    - maratd 11y ago
      > It's like you don't really have a right to keep your money unless it's accessed via some plastic card or routing number. They have an apparatus in place to track all of your money, as long as it's in electronic form. That way they can control your spending and make sure you don't spend it on things they don't like (drugs, prostitution, insert illegal behavior/good here). When you use cash, a method they have limited control over, the very act of using it becomes subversive. Why would you use cash unless you wanted to do something illegal with it? That's the question ringing in their minds. The very act of using cash becomes ground for suspicion.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]

justthistime_ 11y ago

Doesn't this just mean that the will rob you _and_ additionally charge you with some made-up crime and let you rot in jail until you sign the plea deal?

pionar 11y ago
> additionally charge you with some made-up crime and let you rot in jail until you sign the plea deal There are supposed to be other protections for this. The sixth amendment, for instance, says: "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial...", which means that they can't just "let you rot in jail." In practice, though, sometimes you do rot in jail. :/
- spacemanmatt 11y ago
  In the face of such tilted odds, some people consider themselves freedom fighters more than criminals. Perspective matters.
- falcolas 11y ago
  Speedy public trials, in this day and age, can take a year or more from the time of conviction. That's a long time to spend in jail - a location where you have no real freedoms.
  - wahsd 11y ago
    That's the worst part of it, this process of flagrant violation of the Constitution. In essence, the government has become a treasonous organization in direct violation and contradiction to the Constitution. If the original authors could define a speedy trial in terms of days and a couple weeks, there is no rational justification for why in this day and age a speedy trial can't be a matter of minutes or hours, or at worst days. The most dangerous enemy is the one within and the traitor in your midst.
    - tracker1 11y ago
      Are minutes/hours/days really enough for a defense counsel? Many times not... the time it takes to get to trial isn't only a matter of the government letting you rot. Not to mention that a given backlog and limited number of judges, the formation of juries, etc.