Individuals convicted of significant crimes may be at risk of losing personal assets. Although the Fourth Amendment protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures, the law provides for some scenarios where it is legal for state authorities to seize personal property.
The state can potentially seize any property used in the commission of a crime or acquired with the proceeds earned through criminal activity. Police officers can seize and sell a vehicle if someone purchased it using funds derived from selling illegal drugs. They also can potentially claim that any cash they may find in someone’s possession was the result of illicit activity.
Unfortunately, legal crackdowns in South Carolina sometimes lead to police officers mistreating members of the public and unfairly seizing their property. In recent years, widespread enforcement efforts on South Carolina highways have seen many warrantless vehicle searches that have resulted in potentially inappropriate detentions of individuals followed by the seizure of their personal property.
Cash seizures are more common than people realize
According to an analysis of state policy by Reason.com, a libertarian publication, police officers and the courts sometimes deny drivers their right to due process and violate their Fourth Amendment protections. Drivers pulled over for minor violations, like following another vehicle too closely, can end up detained during an extensive vehicle search and at risk of property seizures.
Many of the people who have lost cash and other assets during unsuccessful police searches of their vehicles may have experienced a violation of their civil rights. Carrying cash is not technically a crime. Given the way that police officers might respond to finding hundreds of dollars in cash, people might assume that carrying cash is against the law.
After all, how else could the state justify seizing the property of a motorist who police officers don’t arrest for any kind of criminal offense? Unfortunately, civil asset forfeiture rules in South Carolina leave much to the discretion of police officers. Judges across the state frequently give police officers the benefit of the doubt rather than extending the presumption of innocence to those who lose cash resources during an encounter with law enforcement.
Even in cases where officers might arrest someone for an alleged driving under the influence (DUI) offense after a traffic stop, a DUI charge does not automatically warrant the seizure of an individual’s cash. Understanding when police officers may have violated someone’s rights could give them the courage to fight the charges they’re facing.
