Seventh Circuit Reverses Forfeiture Of $271,000 Seized From Brothers Who Were Never Charged With A Crime

by Johnathan Truley

The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has issued an unanimous opinion overturning a district court that had forfeited $271,080 in cash seized by the federal government, even though owners brothers, Pedro and Abraham Cruz-Hernandez, were never criminally charged. Pedro and Abraham contested the forfeiture under 18 U.S.C. § 983(a) and submitted affidavits attesting that the money is their joint savings. The entire panel rejected the decision of United States District Judge Joan B. Gottschall to uphold the abusive forfeiture. Judge Diane Wood (left) wrote the opinion below for the Court. I wrote a column on the increasing use of our roads by police to mine for cash and property to seize from vehicles. We have also discussed this trend in various blog columns....

My Take - This federal judge who supported this thievery needs to be impeached! And the public officials who perpetrated this crime need to be indicted along with the federal prosecutors who supported this position.  This was a crime - what does it take for everyone to get that?