Ethics

Lawsuit Filed Over Texas Asset Forfeitures

By Ed Brayton

A few weeks ago I wrote about the tiny town of Tenaha, Texas, where they've been stopping motorists like crazy and seizing cash and property with very few being charged with any crime. A class action suit has now been filed over it.

You can drive into this dusty fleck of a town near the Texas-Louisiana border if you're African-American, but you might not be able to drive out of it--at least not with your car, your cash, your jewelry or other valuables.

That's because the police here allegedly have found a way to strip motorists, many of them black, of their property without ever charging them with a crime. Instead they offer out-of-towners a grim choice: voluntarily sign over your belongings to the town, or face felony charges of money laundering or other serious crimes.

Full post as published by Dispatches from the Culture Wars on March 19, 2009 (boomark / email).