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Civil Forfeiture Goes Too Far: United States v. Hull

A rational person can simultaneously hold the following beliefs: In a state of nature, people who look at child pornography should be removed from the gene pool. In a nation of laws, a person who uses his property to commit crimes - by, say, growing marijuana - may have that property seized as the instrumentality of a crime. In a nation of laws, a person who has child pornography on his computer should not have his home and 19 acres of property seized. When people are prosecuted for possession of child pornography, judges forget that the United States is a nation of laws.  Reason sleeps.  United States v. Hull (CA8) (here).  See also United States v. Dodge Caravan.Under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2252(a)(3), the federal government may seize any property "used or intended to be usedto commit or to promote the commission of [a child-pornography related] offense...continue to full post

Full post as published by Crime & Federalism on May 26, 2010 (boomark / email).