Why Colin Bonini is Better than John Carney – Item #1 Civil Forfeiture
This may be a very short running recurring feature. I doubt it makes it to “Item #2”, but for now…Colin Bonini is MUCH better than John Carney in one area: civil forfeiture.
“Public safety is one of the foundational responsibilities of government, and I am proud to support the men and women who ensure the safety of all Delawareans. That said, we need to balance public safety with basic civil rights and freedoms.
“Unfortunately, we have laws in Delaware that allow law enforcement to take property from Delawareans without so much as an arrest. Simply suspicion of a crime. And the police can then sell that property and use it to fund their operations.
“The Institute for Justice gave Delaware a “D-” in their “Policing for Profit” report, adding that “Delaware has some of the worst civil forfeiture laws in the country.” We currently do not require a conviction for civil forfeiture. Nearly 100% of the proceeds go to fund law enforcement. And worst of all, law enforcement does not publicly account for its forfeiture activity.
Given our stupid, corrupt Democratic Party that is totally in the pocket of the state police, I doubt I’ll have occasion to revise this prior to November.
I’ll add this to the video I saw of Cruz genuinely and lovingly playing with his daughter backstage at the debate to my “no one is ALL bad” file.
We could have a blind squirrel finds nuts situation, but his statement was surprisingly coherent.
Very few states require a criminal conviction. Delaware is no different there. That should be a requirement for any forfeiture. What is equally bad is the fact that this money/property is never accounted for. So, at the least, 1) any forfeiture should require a criminal conviction, and 2) any profits realized should go into the state’s general fund.
Right. That the State Police have a direct profit stake in this system is obscene.
Carney just sewed up the FOP endorsement.
Didja see that he was ‘honored’ by the State Chamber of Commerce yesterday?
In accepting the ‘honor’ Carney promised to continue the bi-partisan race to the bottom:
What….what? Colin Bonini is the spokesperson for Common Cause now?
And, sorry, given our bipartisan race to the bottom of toxifying all inland waters in delaware, I am not interested in chemical companies coming here or staying here.
Why are Delaware’s beaches always ranked so high in water quality? Because Dupont doesn’t have a factory here yet.