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The Rights Of The Fifth And Fourteenth Amendments

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Citizen 's Rights In regards to human rights, the due process clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments are often thought as being violated when civil-asset forfeiture takes place (Worrall, n.p.). The fact that owners of seized property have few means to challenge said in cases in a court of law and are considered guilty until proven innocent only make retrieval of the property that much more difficult. Because asset forfeiture is part of the Civil Justice System, there are no provided attorneys for defendants as their are in most criminal trials. This forces victims who cannot afford an attorney to have slim chances of recovering their property or having their case thrown out altogether because of the absence of a lawyer. The Eighth Amendment is also put to the test in regard to civil-asset forfeiture. A portion of the amendment states that no excessive fines be imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. During a 1996 trial, Justice John Paul Stevens rules it just that a house, in which marijuana has been illegally processed, be seized in accordance with the drug crime. The defendant claimed that the Eighth Amendment was being violated, because of the excessive punishment implemented but the majority of the court did not rule in his favor (Greenhouse, n.p.). Although the defendant was found guilty in this instance, the trial displayed how civil-asset forfeiture can lead to the seemingly extensive confiscation of valuable personal possessions.

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