Not the epileptic kind, but the ones the police do.
Other than my introduction this is my first post. It's sort of intense in nature because it deals with law. I'm well aware that laws, for the most part, differ from state to state and then there are the federal laws. Some of us may encounter the state laws more often and then there are some of us who may have to deal with the big boys and the federal system. My question will probably involve both federal and state laws. More specifically, I am not so much concerned about U.S. borders and Customs, but rather laws and regulations within the U.S. Even more specifically, the laws, regulations and practices followed by regular cops (i.e., state & local narc cops).
But, before I go into my question I just want to put it out here that I am seriously looking for an answer and, therefore, don't want this thread to turn into a law enforcement bashing thread (i.e., the use of terms like "pigs" and stuff like that. I fully understand that we all have opinions and those opinions may be anti-police, but I'd rather stick to finding out the answer rather than this spinning off into something completely different.
Without further ado, onto my question. With regard to the seizure of money what gives the police the right/authority to seize my money that they find? Example, say for the sake of discussion that I am driving down the highway with a large amount of cash in my car (the term "large" is relative, so lets say I have $20,000) and I get pulled over. The police officer asks for consent to search my car and I say OK (again, this is just for argument/demonstrative purposes & most people would say don't give consent) or he has a K9 and he says the dog alerted on the car and he searches. During this search the cop finds the $20,000 and no other indication of drugs, paraphernalia or anything incriminating.
Obviously he's going to ask why I have the money and what it's for. If he says he doesn't believe my story of why I have it can he seize the money? I've read about this happening alot and also have heard stories personally from people who have had this happen to them.
I personally don't think this is right because merely having currency is not illegal, nor is it illegal to transport it. I mean it's kinda stupid to drive around with alot of cash, but sometimes if you're going to buy stuff you can't use a credit card
What do you guys think? BTW, I warned y'all this was going to be an intense post. If this is my first post and it's this intense you can imagine how my future posts are gonna be once I get warmed up, so to speak.
Oh, a little disclaimer: I would never be involved in buying stuff that would involve large amounts of money. I'm just asking this question for a friend who's writing a paper for one of her college classes.
Other than my introduction this is my first post. It's sort of intense in nature because it deals with law. I'm well aware that laws, for the most part, differ from state to state and then there are the federal laws. Some of us may encounter the state laws more often and then there are some of us who may have to deal with the big boys and the federal system. My question will probably involve both federal and state laws. More specifically, I am not so much concerned about U.S. borders and Customs, but rather laws and regulations within the U.S. Even more specifically, the laws, regulations and practices followed by regular cops (i.e., state & local narc cops).
But, before I go into my question I just want to put it out here that I am seriously looking for an answer and, therefore, don't want this thread to turn into a law enforcement bashing thread (i.e., the use of terms like "pigs" and stuff like that. I fully understand that we all have opinions and those opinions may be anti-police, but I'd rather stick to finding out the answer rather than this spinning off into something completely different.
Without further ado, onto my question. With regard to the seizure of money what gives the police the right/authority to seize my money that they find? Example, say for the sake of discussion that I am driving down the highway with a large amount of cash in my car (the term "large" is relative, so lets say I have $20,000) and I get pulled over. The police officer asks for consent to search my car and I say OK (again, this is just for argument/demonstrative purposes & most people would say don't give consent) or he has a K9 and he says the dog alerted on the car and he searches. During this search the cop finds the $20,000 and no other indication of drugs, paraphernalia or anything incriminating.
Obviously he's going to ask why I have the money and what it's for. If he says he doesn't believe my story of why I have it can he seize the money? I've read about this happening alot and also have heard stories personally from people who have had this happen to them.
I personally don't think this is right because merely having currency is not illegal, nor is it illegal to transport it. I mean it's kinda stupid to drive around with alot of cash, but sometimes if you're going to buy stuff you can't use a credit card
What do you guys think? BTW, I warned y'all this was going to be an intense post. If this is my first post and it's this intense you can imagine how my future posts are gonna be once I get warmed up, so to speak.
Oh, a little disclaimer: I would never be involved in buying stuff that would involve large amounts of money. I'm just asking this question for a friend who's writing a paper for one of her college classes.
