US government is still confiscating private gold

[benjamindees]

"The Mint meticulously tracked the '33 Double Eagles, and the records show that no such transaction occurred," U.S. District Judge Legrome Davis Jr. wrote in his decision. "What's more, this absence of a paper trail speaks to criminal intent. If whoever took or exchanged the coins thought he was doing no wrong, we would expect to see some sort of documentation reflecting the transaction, especially considering how carefully and methodically the Mint accounted for the '33 Double Eagles."

More importantly, what does this precedent have to do with Yamashita's Gold and the recently confiscated gold-backed Treasury bonds?

[hashman]

Sadly this is a drop in the bucket for asset forfeiture in our police state.

     

[dotcom]

The actual lessons of this story are to 1. never let the government know you're holding metals and 2. the government will always win on its own turf: the courts.

Don't know the details of this particular story, but I couldn't agree with this statement more

[JoelKatz]

Innocent until presumed guilty?

This was a civil seizure. The standard is just preponderance of the evidence -- which side makes the stronger case.

If I claim you stole my television and you say you bought it from a guy on the street who swears I sold it to him, the court will just decide which side is more likely to be correct. If there was a higher standard, then the case would just hinge on who went to court first or who had physical possession of the television. Neither of those options make any sense.