Comment by Dylan16807
Comment by Dylan16807 4 days ago
But most abandoned property doesn't go through that process, does it?
Comment by Dylan16807 4 days ago
But most abandoned property doesn't go through that process, does it?
My point is, it really takes the "need" out of the situation.
We have perfectly good ways to handle lost items without forfeiture. Using those systems, the confiscation problem disappears. And if anyone claims a bag of heroin the same way they would claim a lost phone... let them. Then arrest them after they do that.
As amusing as that would be, forfeiture is how you get judicial oversight of the process. If someone wants to claim their misplaced drugs then they have to show up at the trial and defend their right to posses them.
Consider a more nuanced, and more common, case: a shipment of batteries labeled as Apple™ products arrives in port. The shipping address indicates that they aren’t going to Apple, but to one Louis Rossmann. Clearly these must be counterfeits, right? Nobody else could possibly be allowed to own items with “Apple™” printed on them, after all. Customs seizes the shipment with the intent to destroy them. If Louis wants them he can go to court to prove that he has a right to own batteries with the word “Apple™” on them.
Clearly we want Louis to be able to clear up the misunderstanding and recover his property (genuine batteries salvaged from damaged phones), and clearly customs doesn’t want to risk storing them forever. Both parties want a definitive end state; they don’t want the disagreement to drag on forever. And certainly Louis wants the oversight of a judge who can ensure that procedure is followed correctly, and that it is the same procedure that was documented ahead of time. It might be an annoying procedure, but at least it is one that he can learn about in advance.
If they suspect the batteries are illegal to have, then once they confirm intentional ownership the government should have a simple choice: give them back or prosecute, and if they lose the case then give them back anyway. He should not have to proactively prove a right to own them.
For items like cash and cars that are not themselves illegal to have and not evidence, then it's even simpler: give them back, and 99% of the time don't take them from people in the first place. Confiscation of ill-gotten goods should happen after a trial proves they're ill-gotten.
What are you worried about with judicial oversight? Is it specifically the case where the owner is unknown? Because in normal cases I think my suggestion has plenty of judicial oversight.
Garbage found at the side of the street, no. A bag of heroin found in an abandoned building, certainly.