Quote:
Originally Posted by Elfwreck
And in the US, the government does not mete out punishments to "suspected" criminals. We are required to convict.
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Actually, I have to agree with Harry and disagree with you here. In addition to his points we actually have a lot of instances where certain degrees of punishment are carried out on those that haven't gone to trial.
The most common is seizure of properties. These happen quite often in supposed drug, 'digital' or RICO crimes. Police departments and other agencies have a habit of auctioning off any materials or properties that are confiscated that are not considered evidence prior to even going to trial. Having seen this behaviour first hand I can report to you that my friend's lawyer, who I was a witness for, stated that he was better off writing off what he had lost then trying to claim it. Similarly if you are ever 'caught' with a large sum of money, police have a habit of confiscating that as well with -no- defined reason (the logic of course that only drug dealers would have so much cash on hand, or perhaps those wary of U.S. banks?). If you are lucky enough to get your money back, expect to spend a year or two fighting for it.
-MJ