Grievance 48 - Forfeiture

The U.S. Constitution failed to require the government to convict an
American of a crime before seizing the citizens property. Federal
statutes allowed seizure of property without filing a charge, and even
when an individual was judged not guilty.

"Civil asset forfeiture" became a common occurrence as law enforcement
agencies sought to crack down on crime. In a case that went to the U.S.
Supreme Court, a woman was deprived of the car which she owned with her
husband after he was convicted of being in it with a prostitute. The
Court ruled 5-4 that she could be deprived of her part ownership even
though she was innocent of any crime.

Most forfeitures were not challenged in court because the owners felt
the value of the property was not worth a lawyer's fee to present the
case.

After years of injustice, politicians sought to correct the problem by
enacting legislation that should have been a part of the Constitution's
Bill of Rights, and by such definition that no court of justice could
dismiss a rightful owners part of legal property, no matter how small
its dollar value.

With an AUTHENTIC CONSTITUTION in harmony with the natural Cosmic Laws
of the universe, and producing High Moral Values and Democratic Ideals, government
is constitutionally bound to prove "cause" for seizure of private property, instead of
owners to prove innocence.