Tag Archives: Bill of Rights

Ruling Allows Officials to Seize Your House Because It’s ‘Ugly and Dumb’

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“What many people do not know is that the plan could have been finished without destroying many of the homes that were ultimately seized through eminent domain. Pfizer executives, however, said that they didn’t want their beautiful headquarters ‘surrounded by tenements.’  Think about that. A large corporation was going to receive a gigantic gift, but still felt empowered to demand that people whose homes could have been preserved must nevertheless be forced out because, as the president of NLDC put it, their houses looked ‘ugly and dumb.’ Thus we see one of the hidden consequences of eminent domain – it engenders a domineering, elitist attitude.”

http://affluentinvestor.com/2015/07/this-ruling-allows-officials-to-seize-your-house-because-its-ugly-and-dumb/

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Should Defendants With Frozen Assets Have Right To Hire Lawyers?

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“The Supreme Court took up a case Monday concerning whether the government can deny criminal defendants untainted money they need to hire an attorney of their choice.  In petitions urging the Supreme Court to take up the case, legal experts argued that the justices should consider whether Luis’ Sixth Amendment right to hire counsel of her choice should outweigh prosecutorial efforts to recover the full value of the alleged fraud.  Last year, the court’s justices ruled that indicted defendants do not have a right to challenge the forfeiture of their assets at a hearing in order to hire attorneys to defend them.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/08/supreme-court-asset-forfeiture_n_7534946.html

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A Motel-Sized Victory for Privacy at the Supreme Court

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“It’s worth stepping back to think through the logic embraced by Los Angeles, the LAPD, a district court, a Ninth Circuit dissent, and now, four dissenting Supreme Court justices. All seem comfortable with something that wasn’t addressed directly: the notion that hotel and motel guests have no right to privacy in information that they voluntarily turn over to third parties, per Smith v. Maryland.  The third-party information precedent is problematic on its own.  But it is devastating to privacy  when paired with laws that compel businesses to collect detailed information on customers and to turn it over to police without warrants, destroying the ability to enter voluntary transactions that include discretion.”

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/06/an-motel-sized-victory-for-privacy-at-the-supreme-court/396542/

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Freedom or the Slaughterhouse? The American Police State from A to Z

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AGOW_SMALL1

“Despite the best efforts of some to sound the alarm, the nation is being locked down into a militarized, mechanized, hypersensitive, legalistic, self-righteous, goose-stepping antithesis of every principle upon which this nation was founded. All the while, the nation’s citizens seem content to buy into a carefully constructed, benevolent vision of life in America that bears little resemblance to the gritty, pain-etched reality that plagues those unfortunate enough to not belong to the rarefied elite. For those whose minds have been short-circuited into believing the candy-coated propaganda peddled by the politicians, here is an A-to-Z, back-to-the-basics primer of what life in the USA is really all about.”

http://rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/freedom_or_the_slaughterhouse_the_american_police_state_from_a_to_z

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Man Threatened By SF Cops For Holding ‘John 3:16’ Sign in Front of Ballpark

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“In filing suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of Gino Emmerich, Rutherford Institute attorneys charge that police officers violated Emmerich’s right to free speech and assembly when they forcefully removed him from Willie Mays Plaza, surrounded him and threatened him with arrest if he did not cease displaying his ‘John 3:16’ sign. Institute attorneys point out that Emmerich was in no way causing a disruption in the plaza, the baseball stadium known as ‘AT&T Park,’ or any other business or agency in the area, nor was he acting in a criminal manner. Moreover, other people in the plaza were displaying signs and communicating messages.”

http://rutherford.org/publications_resources/on_the_front_lines/rutherford_institute_sues_california_police_for_threatening_man_who_was_pea

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New IRS guidance limits FBAR seizures to a mere 100% of account value

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“New constraints on penalties the IRS will impose when taxpayers don’t properly report their foreign bank accounts show agency concerns that some will argue in court that huge penalties are unconstitutional, attorneys told Bloomberg BNA.  Practitioners said the guidance likely stems in part from an argument a taxpayer was prepared to make in court in 2014 that a penalty far greater than the value of his bank account, across multiple years, was an excessive fine under the Eighth Amendment. Some said that argument still could be made even under the new guidance, which limits the amount the government can take to 100 percent of the account.”

http://www.bna.com/new-fbar-limits-n17179927429/

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Congress’s Plans to Lock You in

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“Congress ratified the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on April 2, 1992. But it’s now having second thoughts.  The ‘right to travel’ makes some politicians very nervous.  In May, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) introduced legislation that would seize the passport of any US citizen with ‘seriously delinquent tax debts.’ This is the fourth year in a row that Hatch, or other Big Government apologists, have introduced this measure.  The proposal requires no hearing or any other due process to grab your passport. All that’s needed is for the IRS to issue a ‘Notice of Levy’ for any amount greater than $50,000. This is a letter informing you that the IRS thinks you owe it money.”

http://www.nestmann.com/congresss-plans-to-lock-you-in

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Tiny California Towns Have Big Asset Forfeiture Histories

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“These forfeitures and the partnerships between municipal police and federal agencies rose as the economy of California slid into a slump. Forfeitures through the federal Equitable Sharing Program have tripled while forfeitures using the state’s process have remained flat (and much lower). The reason is pretty simple: California’s asset forfeiture law allows law enforcement agencies to keep only a maximum of 65 percent of the money they seize. The federal program allows law enforcement agencies to keep 80 percent. Some cities appear to be anticipating forfeiture revenue in advance and using forfeited funds to supplant budgeted spending for law enforcement agencies.”

http://reason.com/blog/2015/04/21/tiny-california-towns-have-big-asset-for

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FBI behind mysterious surveillance aircraft over US cities

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“For decades, the planes have provided support to FBI surveillance operations on the ground. But now the aircraft are equipped with high-tech cameras, and in rare circumstances, technology capable of tracking thousands of cellphones, raising questions about how these surveillance flights affect Americans’ privacy.  The surveillance equipment is used for ongoing investigations, the FBI says, generally without a judge’s approval.  The FBI confirmed for the first time the wide-scale use of the aircraft, which the AP traced to at least 13 fake companies, such as FVX Research, KQM Aviation, NBR Aviation and PXW Services.”

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/4b3f220e33b64123a3909c60845da045/fbi-behind-mysterious-surveillance-aircraft-over-us-cities

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County sheriff has used stingray over 300 times with no warrant

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“The sheriff in San Bernardino County—east of Los Angeles County—has deployed a stingray hundreds of times without a warrant, and under questionable judicial authority.  In response to a public records request, the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department (SBSD) sent a rare example of a template for a ‘pen register and trap and trace order’ application which, surprisingly, cites no legal authority on which to base its activities. The SBSD did not respond to Ars’ request for comment. Further, the SBSD, like other departments nationwide, maintains a questionable non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with the FBI to dismiss cases rather than reveal information in court about stingrays.”

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/05/county-sheriff-has-used-stingray-over-300-times-with-no-warrant/

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