The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution is supposed to protect your assets from unreasonable search and seizure. However, in Texas and more than 30 other States, you may have to hand over your license, registration, and possibly your car for simply being stopped on the highway. There’s nothing you have that’s safe from the long arm of the law. Civil forfeiture allows police to seize your property without ever having to prove your guilt. The Law Office of Mark Barber can help.
What is Civil Forfeiture?
Civil forfeiture is a little-understood practice that allows police to seize cash, cars, and other assets from you without giving you a speeding ticket or proving your guilt. There’s good reason for civil forfeiture. It’s in place for cases where a guilty person has profited from crime. But what about the thousands of times innocent people lose their cash, their cars, and other assets, and cannot get them back?
What is Going On Here?
First, read these examples:
- A driver going 3 miles per hour over the speed limit was pulled over. He lost $50,000 in cash. He was then told to leave or his car would be gone, too. He would’ve been stranded in the middle of the desert. The police officer didn’t even write a ticket.
- Another driver was pulled over when the police found a warrant for a fellow with the same name. Even though the two had different birth dates and ethnicity, it didn’t matter. He was let go after he handed over $13,800 and again, no ticket.
- The trend continues with another fellow losing $28,500 of church parishioner’s money to the law when stopped for speeding. Somehow, the police forgot to give him a ticket.
- In one town in Texas, police have stopped hundreds of drivers. A large percentage are blacks and Hispanics. They’ve seized approximately $3 million from them. Some of these cases were settled through a class action suit, because it was reported the police threatened to take children if the cash wasn’t turned over.
- In Texas and across the United States, law enforcement agencies are keeping cash and assets. It’s big business. One police officer has seized more than $6.5 million in traffic stops and another more than $20 million over the past 20 years. In most instances, no tickets were written.
All across Texas and the United States, law enforcement agencies and some police officers are benefiting from abuses of Civil Forfeiture. The question is, what can you do if this happens to you?
What to Do To Protect Yourself
First, don’t carry a large amount of cash with you. You won’t be protected by the law if a police officer wants to carry out a Civil Forfeiture. In hundreds, if not thousands of cases the cash, the cars, and the other assets seized are lost to the long arm of the law.
Secondly realize it’s tough to get the assets back. The best you can do is contact Mark Barber, Attorney at Law, Wichita Falls, Texas for expert legal advice.
Contact Mark Barber, Attorney at Law
Mark Barber decided on a career in law as a result of his burning desire to help the underdog. He grew up in a family that was always reaching out to help others. This passion continues today with his approach to representation of those finding themselves on the wrong side of the law.
Mark Barber, Attorney at Law, has many years of experience working within the system of the District Attorney’s Office. It gave him a unique perspective on the law and how the system works. He has also built an extensive network of law enforcement contacts he uses to assist clients. Practicing law isn’t just law. It’s building relationships between the DA’s office and the lawyers and knowing the legal system intimately.
Give Mark Barber, Attorney at Law, a call today if you find yourself on the wrong side of the law. Mark’s a good listener, a quick thinker, and his knowledge of the law will give you the correct answer in a straightforward, honest manner.
The introductory meeting is on Mark’s “dime.” You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by calling Mark Barber, Attorney at Law at (940) 761 3009 or fill out the contact form by Clicking Here.
Don’t delay. Every second of every minute counts. Call the best. Get Mark Barber, Attorney at Law working for you today.
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