In the News
Asset forfeitures arose as a way of going after bad guys involved in drug dealing, human trafficking or other criminal enterprises. Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies seize cash, luxury cars and other property of wrongdoers and pocket a good share of the proceeds.
JACKSON, MI - To Amy Bonneau, another chance for the city to remember her son was the best gift she could have gotten this Christmas season.
Her son, Jackson Police Officer James Bonneau, was killed in the line of duty in 2010. On Thursday afternoon, President Barack Obama signed a bill into law that will rename the Jackson Post Office after him.
When she got the news Thursday evening, Amy Bonneau said she couldn't have been happier.
"It was just a nice surprise. The timing is perfect," Amy Bonneau said. "It's like a Christmas gift to Jim."
JACKSON, MI – It is tempting to denounce the President of the United States right now, but he's not responsible for every disappointment that comes my way.
The Department of Veterans Affairs on Monday unveiled a restructuring plan to regain the public's trust and ensure smoother operations after the agency's recent scheduling scandal, but veterans groups and key members of Congress have expressed little enthusiasm for the proposals.
Following a slew of recent negative press involving IRS's use of civil forfeiture laws, IRS's Chief of Criminal Investigation (CI) has issued a statement stating that the agency would no longer pursue the seizure and forfeiture of funds associated solely with legal source "structuring" cases unless there are exceptional circumstances that warrant such seizures or forfeitures.
HILLSDALE — Civil asset forfeiture is a practice by which the government can seize and sell a person's property without the individual ever being charged with a crime. If a person's property is suspected of being used for criminal activity, then it is subject to seizure; this includes cash, vehicles and even homes.
Lawmakers voiced skepticism on Friday about Obama administration assurances that government measures are likely to succeed in protecting the United States, and U.S. soldiers overseas, from further spread of the Ebola virus.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, characterized the administration's response to the disease so far as "bumbling."
"I think we all know that the system is not yet refined to where we could say it is working properly," he said during a hearing on government management of the disease.
Cops are increasingly looking and acting more like soldiers. How are they paying for all this militarized equipment? One source of funding is particularly disconcerting for Americans' constitutional rights: equitable sharing.
DUNDEE, Mich. — A Dundee High School special assembly last week promoted an upcoming student trip to the nation's capital, featured a congressman as keynote speaker, and celebrated George Washington with the dedication of a portrait of the first president that came from his Mount Vernon estate.
About a dozen students will spend the week before Thanksgiving in Washington catching the sights and learning how government works, said history teacher Paul Walters, who will accompany them.
Did you know you don't actually need to be charged with a crime for the government to seize your financial and property assets?
Under U.S. law, it can take only the suspicion of a crime to turn lives upside down and seize the property of innocent citizens.
The civil asset forfeiture law allows government agencies like the IRS or the Department of Justice to confiscate anyone's property without obtaining criminal charges against them.