This is good (not great) news. It looks like Philadelphia DA Seth Williams is feeling the heat.
Quietly yesterday, Williams' office agreed to dismiss civil-forfeiture proceedings against two Philadelphia families whose homes were in jeopardy of being seized because a family member was accused of selling drugs at the properties.
Just so that you don't feel like the war on drugs is being lost because crazy progressive commies are attacking
citizen extortion civil forfeiture:
As C.J. Ciaramella reports, the case against Christos Sourovelis's home (notably, not against the Sourovelises themselves) was particularly weak. The home was seized solely because of a $40 drug sale by their son.
In Welch's case, her estranged husband was selling marijuana out of the house while she was mostly confined to a bed upstairs by her disability.
This decision by D.A. Seth Williams comes after Sourovelis and three others filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the Philadelphia D.A.'s office. Is Philly really that bad?
Yes.
From 2002 to 2012, Philadelphia took in almost $6 million annually and $64 million in total in civil forfeiture revenue, Sheth said.
During that time, 1,172 homes and other real property, 3,290 automobiles and other vehicles and more than $44 million in cash were seized.
To illustrate the appetite of the city's forfeiture machine, Sheth noted that while Philadelphia's population is smaller than those of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Los Angeles County, it brings in twice as much civil forfeiture revenue as those jurisdictions combined.
If you think Philadelphia's civil forfeiture squad feels contrite, think again!
"The class-action lawyers are trying to portray today's events as some sort of victory. The truth is that we resolve most of our real estate forfeiture actions by agreement, just as we are doing here, and we have been doing that since long before this lawsuit was filed.
"We do it because the purpose of the forfeiture process is to protect public safety and relieve neighborhoods of rampant drug dealing."
"Some sort" of victory is right. It's "some sort" of statement about not feasting off of your citizens like a mobster.