Appeals Court – Detroit’s Asset Forfeiture Violates Due Process

A federal circuit judge writes that Detroit’s vehicle seizure scheme

“is simply a money-making venture—one most often used to extort money from those who can least afford it.”

A panel of federal appellate judges ruled that Detroit’s practice of seizing people’s cars for months before allowing them to contest the seizure violates vehicle owners’ 14th Amendment right to due process.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, agreeing with a lower U.S. district court, found that Michigan’s Wayne County, which includes Detroit,

“violated that Constitution when it seized plaintiffs’ personal vehicles—which were vital to their transportation and livelihoods—with no timely process to contest the seizure.”

The 6th Circuit’s ruling mandates that Wayne County must conduct a court hearing for car owners post-seizure within a two-week timeframe. 

Wayne County will probably spend two weeks looking for a loophole.

Read the entire story here on Reason.

Here is some information to review.

• Keep in mind the police are allowed to lie to you.
• Your Fifth Amendment rights
• When remaining silent can be used against you
• Your Sixth Amendment rights
• Testilying
• What are Miranda Rights?
• US Constitution

More Rights You Should Know

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