Tag Archives: Fourth Amendment
Funds Yanked: Congress Puts Brakes on Civil Asset Forfeiture
Conservative think tanks are stepping up their efforts to educate the public about the abuses of civil asset forfeiture and demand lawmakers fight to protect Americans’ fundamental rights from wrongful seizure. The presumption of innocence seems nowhere to be found, when it comes to civil asset forfeiture. The modern use of civil asset forfeiture is rife with abuse and fraught with violations of citizens’ fourth amendment constitutional rights. The recent congressional action to defund the federal program only lasts through 2016, so expect both sides to be ready for battle in 2017. Continue reading
Sovereignty and Activist Judges
In its current term, the U.S. Supreme Court will weigh in on many crucial and emotionally charged issues affecting the nation. These range from voting rights to same-sex marriage to race-based college admissions policies. The intensity of these disputes was on full display on February 27 during the court’s oral argument on the Voting Rights Act. Unusually visceral questioning from Justices Antonin Scalia and Sonia Sotomayor, representing opposite ends of the court’s ideological spectrum, offered a glimpse into the raw conflicts coming to a boil before the high court.