Rather deal with the bums hustling cigarettes from you at 1 am, while worrying that they might be packing, and casing you for an armed robbery. AND that's quite a sad commentary, since I represent some police officer unions.
There are good officers, bad officers, and guys/gals just doing their jobs. The problem is that the civil forfeiture laws were designed to deal with bad people, having access to money gleaned from illegal endeavors, but has been corrupted for use as a revenue raiser by cities and departmental bean counters, to "steal money" from law abiding people, for reasons that cannot be justified.
The a-holes who approve these laws being enforced within the police departments, without them being subject to regular scrutiny and review, and without the application of administrative discipline (up to and including termination) and prosecution against those officers who misuse, no strike that, abuse their authority to "steal" property from citizens, should be reported and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Oh, I forgot, we don't prosecute Wall Street tycoons or politicians. Silly me, why would we prosecute police officers who "find" money that the local taxpayers refused to raise to fund their cities and police departments?
Off my soapbox. Bad officers, politicians and bureaucrats are to blame, and we need to be vigilant and bring criminal charges against any officer who takes our money and/or property under the guise of a civil forfeiture law. Otherwise, our silence reflects our complicity to such lawlessness.
Last edited by Frank Galvin; 05-26-2015 at 09:08 PM.
In the video, the cop said something along the lines of: "You lied to me, you said you didn't have cash."
What is the proper / legal way about doing this? A cop asks if you have a large sum of cash, what do you say?
Actually -- what do you do, in general, in this type of situation?
"What to do in a back-off" has been discussed to death on these boards -- but what about "What to do when getting pulled over with lots of cash etc...?"
"Everyone wants to be rich, but nobody wants to work for it." -Ryan Howard [The Office]
I am not a criminal defense nor tax attorney, but my initial thoughts are as follows:
1. Have your cell phone handy, and your attorney's name and number on speed dial;
2. Open your live cell phone video streaming cam app (with audio also being preferable);
3. Be non-confrontational, but advise the police officer that you are video streaming this stop with your cell phone, and that you have X amount of cash in your possession from winnings earned at X casino(s) - YOU WANT THIS RECORDED/STREAMED AS EVIDENCE AS TO AMOUNT OF CASH LIKELY BEING CONFISCATED;
4. Advise the officer that your cell phone is in your hands, show him/her that it is clearly visible for his/her viewing, and that you have your attorney on speed dial;
5. Advise the officer that you do and will not consent to an unreasonable search and/or seizure of yourself, your vehicle or your property; and
6. Politely tell the officer that your attorney will want to talk with him/her.
It is highly likely that the police officer will refuse to allow you to call your attorney, and will most likely demand that you cease and desist from video recording/streaming the stop. Politely tell him/her that you do not intend to comply with his/her unlawful order (if s/he orders you to stop), as the courts have held that you have a constitutional right to video record a police stop and/or arrest, as it is being conducted in public, and that s/he (the police officer) has no expectation of privacy in conducting the search and/or seizure of you or your property, while s/he is working and being paid by public tax dollars, out in public view.
If you don't get shot, or immediately placed in handcuffs, attempt to call your attorney. If you do get shot or placed in handcuffs, call your attorney ASAP!
Just some quick thoughts.
Last edited by Frank Galvin; 05-27-2015 at 05:28 AM.
I am a criminal defense attorney and licensed in 2 New England States. A couple of additional suggestions. When stopped keep your hands in clear view of the cop. Top of steering wheel is best. Do not get out of the car without being ordered to do so. I am seeing a lot of nervous cops lately. I am also seeing a lot of clients getting tazered. If you see blue lights behind you, dial your attorney or a family member on blue tooth giving your name and location as cop approaches just to keep cop honest and someone knowing where you are and able to defend you or get you an attorney quickly.Originally Posted by rmwlaw
If its serious amount of money, I would follow Andersen's recommendation from Burning The Tables book...Have a lawyer prepare a letter for you stating that you are a professional card (poker) player and that you're carrying cash for sole purpose of playing at a fully licensed casino. It gives legit reason for carrying it and its designated purpose. Letter could even possibly threaten to sue in civil court if the money is confiscated since possession alone of any amount of cash is not illegal on its own.
Don't do this if you havent been declaring income and paying taxes on your winnings
"The top 10 become 9 dead whenever I decide to hop in"
Unless an attorney knows you very well, I wouldn't think he'd give a statement that you are carrying large amounts of cash for gambling purposes. If so, I think every drug dealer would have such a letter from their attorney.
Play within your bankroll, pick your games with care and learn everything you can about the game. The winning will come. It has to. It's in the cards. -- Bryce Carlson
I am on my way to Las Vegas.
I am carrying over $50,000 on my person.
I am also carrying the actual receipts from my bank.
The photos of the receipts are also on my cell phone and iPad.
This has been a foolproof form of protection for me in the past;
although once I had a T S A drone apologize for making me wait
a few minutes while he got a camera and photographed a stack
of large denomination chips and 5 figures in cash along side of
my boarding pass and my driver's license. Took maybe 5 minutes
But he knew that I was quite early for my flight.
Shocking to see that video.
I turned to some of my resources to see if this issue was discussed.
Protective measures are discussed in Rick Blaine's Blackjack Blueprint on Chapter 23, pages 217-219.
Ian Andersen gives many suggestions and alternatives in Burning the Tables, pages 264-271.
Kevin Blackwood briefly mentions this issue on page 115 of Play Blackjack Like the Pros.
All three resources uniformly suggest having your attorney and/or CPA notarize a letter stating that the funds you travel with are for gambling purposes.
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