November 3, 2008
Federal hordes pillage Mongol property
Categories: Civil Liberties, Downsizer-Dispatch, Checks & Balances
Quotes of the Day:
"If the court grants our request ... then if any law enforcement officer sees a Mongol wearing his patch, he will be authorized to stop that gang member and literally take the jacket right off his back." - U.S. Attorney Thomas O'Brien
"The government can't ban confederate flags, swastikas, or klan robes, and it sure as hell can't ban the display of the Mongols' logo." - Marc J. Randazza
"What if the government had decided that, because of the Watergate scandal, nobody could use the word Republican again? - Zeichner Ellman
Subject: Federal hordes pillage Mongol property
The case hasn't even gone to trial yet , but U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper has authorized the seizure of the defendants' . . .
* Clothing, motorcycles, and other property bearing the Mongols trademark.
* Any similar property bearing the trademark that belongs to the defendants' "agents, servants, employees, family members, and those persons in active concert or participation with them."
In other words, many people who weren't even indicted will have their property seized.
This ruling has serious problems . . .
* In April, Mongol Nation transferred its trademark to Shotgun Productions, LLC, in April, a company that isn't even named in the indictment.
* Prohibiting possession of trademarked items sets a dangerous precedent. If the government for some reason seizes the Nike swoosh, could FBI agents strip Tiger Woods of his cap, shirt, and shoes?
Civil asset forfeiture was already wrong. The government has no right to seize property without a trial and conviction. But now Judge Cooper and the Justice Department have taken it to a whole new level . . .
* An organization could lose its trademark because of the alleged crimes of some of its members.
* Normal asset forfeiture only seizes property alleged to have been used for illegal purposes, but now the government can take property simply because it sports the wrong logo!
* People completely unrelated to any indictment are now having their property seized too!
Civil asset forfeiture already violates the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th Amendments to the Constitution. Now it endangers the First Amendment too. Government officials could trump-up charges against any organization they don't like, seize its name, and put it out of business! It could happen to DownsizeDC.org!
This will chill freedom of expression.
Civil asset forfeiture must die. Use our Educate the Powerful System to tell Congress to repeal civil asset forfeiture.
Use your personal comments to tell Congress . . .
* About the Mongol case
* That's its wrong for the government to seize property without due process and a conviction
* And even more wrong to seize property simply because it sports a legally-obtained, trademarked logo.
Demand that Congress abolish civil asset .forfeiture.
Thank you for being a part of the growing Downsize DC army.
And a hat tip to The Legal Satyricon blog for providing links to government documents.
James Wilson
Assistant to the President
DownsizeDC.org
Technorati Tags: Downsize DC Mongols
Posted by James Leroy Wilson at November 3, 2008 - 09:55 AM |
Civil Liberties | Downsizer-Dispatch | Checks & Balances
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2 comments
Oh goodie...
one felony charge for any Google stockholder could cause the Google trademark(s) to be seized!
But they won't repeal free speech, will they?
Yeah, right. I seem to remember someone saying that about the USA PATRIOT act, too.
How far does the government have to go before I can justifiably call the U.S. a police state?
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