Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Using loophole, Seward County seizes millions from motorists without convictions

klkntv.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

151–156 of 156 posts

Re: Using loophole, Seward County seizes millions from motorists without convictions

#151

Post by grogenaut »

nraynaud wrote: post #74
grogenaut wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why should I not have cash on hand? I just redid my deck and fence. I paid Time+Materials. Guy brought me the materials and the receipts, I paid cash for the materials upfront. That was $35k in materials, in several $10k chunks. This happens all the time in the real world. The guy does several jobs at a time. My wife was concerned about us having that much cash in our safe. This contractor is doing it all the time pr…

In the EU with have a working banking system that does transfers very well and very fast. (Actually, for 35k, I’ll need to lift some thresholds with my banker)

good for you, not everything is about the EU. Not every transaction needs to be tracable

Re: Using loophole, Seward County seizes millions from motorists without convictions

#152

Post by klodolph »

loeg wrote: post #17
klodolph wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a slow process fixing it, and the police departments don't want it fixed, and the police departments have a lot of leverage. It is slowly being fixed, however.

What makes you say it is slowly being fixed?

Laws are being passed across the country which ban, or attempt to ban the practice. This is being done on a state-by-state basis.

Re: Using loophole, Seward County seizes millions from motorists without convictions

#153

Post by loeg »

klodolph wrote: post #152
loeg wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What makes you say it is slowly being fixed?

Laws are being passed across the country which ban, or attempt to ban the practice. This is being done on a state-by-state basis.

Anywhere other than New Mexico (2015)? That's the only example I can find on the Wikipedia article on the subject.

Re: Using loophole, Seward County seizes millions from motorists without convictions

#154

Post by klodolph »

loeg wrote: post #153
klodolph wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Laws are being passed across the country which ban, or attempt to ban the practice. This is being done on a state-by-state basis.

Anywhere other than New Mexico (2015)? That's the only example I can find on the Wikipedia article on the subject.

Yes, other states as well, such as mentioned in the article:

> The sheriff’s office has specialized in and perfected the practice, known as civil asset forfeiture, despite a 2016 law meant to ban it in Nebraska.

Other laws have either passed, not been passed, or are being written in other states. I’m not going to dig up more citations for a dead thread buried in the HN archives—it is easy enough to find out about these laws being passed. If you can’t find information on Wikipedia, you will have to look elsewhere. I know traditional news sources carry stories about legislation, so I recommend starting there.

Re: Using loophole, Seward County seizes millions from motorists without convictions

#155

Post by cge »

CogitoCogito wrote: post #145
cge wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The "more likely than not" here was from a legal perspective, not a statistical one. The state presented evidence that doesn't seem like it would be nearly enough to convict Bouldin, but they could argue was suggestive of the smuggling: the cash, the vacuum sealer and bags, a previous conviction with a large quantity of marijuana, some text messages the state argued were a negotiation of a sale, and so on. Meanwhile,…

I guess I just don't understand the law in question. I didn't see any evidence whatsoever of a crime in that article. So more likely than not wouldn't apply since I see no evidence of likelihood of crime at all. To me it's quite obvious this is just government condoned theft. The police and politicians involved should all be ashamed of themselves. And then frankly they should be punished.

> I didn't see any evidence whatsoever of a crime in that article.

That was the initial motivation for this particular comment thread: the article excludes essentially all of the evidence the state presented in court against Bouldin. Readers have to look at other sources, like court summaries, to find that evidence. The state did present evidence, if weak, with text messages, equipment, and prior convictions, while Bouldin didn't present anything meaningful, and in a civil case, he needed to. That's how the civil court system works, as problematic as it is.

The article both presents a legitimate grievance, and presents it misleadingly, which is what makes it frustrating to me.

Re: Using loophole, Seward County seizes millions from motorists without convictions

#156

Post by loeg »

klodolph wrote: post #154
loeg wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anywhere other than New Mexico (2015)? That's the only example I can find on the Wikipedia article on the subject.

Yes, other states as well, such as mentioned in the article: > The sheriff’s office has specialized in and perfected the practice, known as civil asset forfeiture, despite a 2016 law meant to ban it in Nebraska. Other laws have either passed, not been passed, or are being written in other states. I’m not going to dig up more citations for a dead thread buried in the HN archives—it is easy enough to find out about the…

Man, I was just curious. My impression was that progress had been slow.
Post reply on HN