Cops still take more stuff from people than burglars do

Re:Cops still take more stuff from people than burglars do by marcus0x62 on Wednesday August 02, 2023 @03:52PM (#36976317)

Because the action is against the property being seized, not the owner of said property[0]. Property cannot commit a crime, and therefore cannot be the defendant in a criminal proceeding, but at the federal level and in almost every state, there are civil statutes permitting these cases to be litigated by the government in rem.[1]

0 - note that if this happens to your property, it sure will feel like it is happening to you. Lawyers will be happy to lawsplain their BS theory[2] to you for a nominal hourly fee. This will not make you feel any better for having been robbed at gunpoint.

1 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_rem_jurisdiction

2 - Spoiler alert: the theory is exactly as stupid as it sounds.

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Re:Cops still take more stuff from people than burglars do by Joker_vD on Wednesday August 02, 2023 @04:03PM (#36976496)

Interestingly enough, property used to be able to commit a crime (back when slavery was a thing) but it still could not be sued or be the plaintiff in a lawsuit.

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Re:Cops still take more stuff from people than burglars do by marcus0x62 on Wednesday August 02, 2023 @04:08PM (#36976572)

Yes, I believe the government used the "heads I win, tails you lose" theory of jurisprudence in those cases.

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