October 20, 2006
Creeping Totalitarianism Department
First they came for the air travelers...
...but I didn't speak up, for I rarely traveled by air.
Then they came for drivers suspected of drinking too much, but I didn't speak up, for I rarely drink.
Then they came for the subway riders, but I didn't speak up, for I rarely ride the subway.
Of course, when they eventually come to for me, there will be no one left to speak up for me.
Meanwhile, however, they've taken the next Jack-booted step toward tyranny:
Legal papers filed in U.S. District Court contend warrants issued by [Attorney General Terry] Goddard's office to seize wire transfers of $500 or more violate federal constitutional requirements that government must have probable cause before taking the money.
Those warrants have resulted in what plaintiffs contend is the illegal seizure of more than $12 million in interstate transfers of money involving in excess of 11,000 transactions.
...
Josh Hoyt, executive director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, said he understands Arizona's desire to bust smuggling rings. But he said the state's use of warrants to take every transaction in excess of $500 — and then make senders prove the money is legal — is both unfair and illegal.
...
At the heart of the dispute are what the state calls "damming warrants." The name comes from the procedure that allows state prosecutors to get a court order to "dam" up all wire transfers meeting certain criteria until the person to whom the money is being sent can show that the money is for a legal purpose.
Assistant Attorney General Cameron Holmes said prosecutors use a computer algorithm to review every money transfer sent into Arizona. He said these tend to be in amounts between $800 and $1,500, usually in final payments to smugglers for ferrying people into the United States.
Then, under a court warrant, the funds are put into a special fund. The intended recipient can call a toll-free number to claim them. If no claim is made, the money is forfeited to the state.
But the lawsuit says the actions are far broader, with the state issuing warrants — generally good for 10-day periods — for all transfers exceeding a certain amount. Attorney Tim Eckstein, who filed the papers on behalf of three individuals whose money was taken by the state, said those warrants originally affected transfers of $2,000 or more. Now transactions of as little as $500 coming from certain states are subject to seizure.
Goddard said not all wire transfers are seized. He said only those that meet certain criteria are set aside — and recipients with "plausible" explanations can get them back.
"Plausible" explanations. Great. So much for Rule of Law, huh? Not when you have to get permission to receive your own money.
Just a little more of this and we'll have that hallmark of totalitarian regimes everywhere, internal checkpoints.
Hat tip: Kip Eqsuire.
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... warrants issued by [Attorney General Terry] Goddard's office to seize wire transfers of $500
Well that just sounds like good 'ol Amer'can graft. What is this country coming to when you can't fleece your constituents?
Who sends transactions of _less_ than $500 by wire transfer, anyway?
Remind me never to do business in Arizona!