Sheriff’s Office Took the Furniture: Mississippi's Asset Forfeiture Laws
"It was the first time in Mississippi attorney Richard Rehfeldt's long career that he can remember where police seized a client's furniture," writes C.J. Ciaramella at Reason Foundation’s "Hit & Run" Blog. "In 2012, Rehfeldt says, the Hinds County Sheriff's Office raided his client's apartment on suspicion her boyfriend was a drug dealer. Anything purchased with drug proceeds is fair game to be seized by police under civil asset forfeiture laws, and they determined the boyfriend had furnished the apartment, so off went her TV, her table and chairs, her couch, her lamps, and even the pictures on the wall. Under a settlement agreement, all of it was eventually returned. Well, all of it except the couch. The Institute for Justice gives Mississippi a C- grade for its asset forfeiture laws, noting the low burden of proof required for a seizure and the high amount of revenue that goes straight back into law enforcement budgets."
Federal Agencies Approve 18 Rules for Every Law Congress Passes
In 2016, Congress passed “only” 211 Public Laws, according to Wayne Crews of the Competitive Enterprise Institute. But he says the bureaucracy was much busier, issuing 3,853 rules and regulations - 443 more than last year – which were published in a record-setting 97,110 pages of the Federal Register. That translated into an average of 18 rules and regulations for every law Congress passed. Crews calls that multiple The Unconstitutionality Index - the multiple of unelected agency rules, over the number of laws from our elected Congress.
It has been 225 years since the Bill of Rights became part of the U.S. Constitution on December 15, 1791. How much do you know about it? This quiz, from the Ashbrook Center at Ashland University in Ohio, provides an opportunity for you to test and refresh your knowledge of the signing and adoption of the Bill of Rights, which comprises the first ten Amendments to the Constitution.
Source: Ashbrook Center at Ashland University Take the Quiz
School Choice Liberty Luncheon Jan. 24 with Kevin Chavous
The Mississippi Center for Public Policy is providing an opportunity for you to hear from one of the leading school choice advocates in the nation about how school choice has changed the lives of thousands of children in the inner city of Washington D.C. and around the country.
Kevin Chavous is a noted author, attorney, national education reform leader, and as of 2016, a member of the District of Columbia Hall of Fame. As a D.C. City Council Member from 1993-2005, Mr. Chavous helped to shepherd the charter school movement into the nation's capital. Other options for low-income children have expanded under his leadership, including the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, the first federal scholarship program, which has provided access to private schools for nearly 6,000 children from low-income families since its inception. Mr. Chavous worked with U.S. Education Secretary-designate Betsy DeVos to form American Federation for Children, a leading school choice organization.
He will be speaking on January 24, during National School Choice Week, at the Old Capitol Inn in Jackson from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM. The cost is $15. Click here for more information or to register.
Preceding that event, you are invited to attend the National School Choice Week rally at the State Capitol from 9:30 – 10:00 AM.
