U.S. City May Pass “Duress Legislation”
to Give Criminals “Poverty Defense”
Judicial Watch,
by
Staff
Original Article
Posted By: Hazymac,
12/19/2020 9:23:52 AM
Elected officials in a major U.S. city plan to pass a law that will allow thieves to sell items they steal if they do it to earn money for basic needs and trespassers to set up camp on private property when it is to obtain adequate shelter. Dozens of other crimes—including assault and harassment—will be excused under the preposterous measure if suspects are poor, mentally ill or addicted to drugs. It is being crafted as a poverty defense and will allow municipal court judges to dismiss a multitude of crimes if poverty, mental illness or a substance-abuse disorder drove the perpetrator to commit them.
Reply 1 - Posted by:
Flyball Dogs 12/19/2020 9:34:13 AM (No. 636256)
Communists (disguised as Democrats in our country) are intellectually and morally bankrupt.
24 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
paral04 12/19/2020 9:40:32 AM (No. 636264)
That is hilarious. No wonder people are fleeing that rat hole. So now it is OK to take someone's stuff and say you are poor and it is OK? The beginnings of a legitimate trade is it? Do you suppose the booty will be called income and taxed? Or will they just skate?
22 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
aasilver 12/19/2020 9:41:55 AM (No. 636266)
The story should be titled "The death of Seattle".
21 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
PChristopher 12/19/2020 9:50:41 AM (No. 636281)
Whoever proposed or supports this legislation should be put up against a wall
12 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
mifla 12/19/2020 9:58:45 AM (No. 636291)
Sure, what could possible go wrong?
17 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
jacksin5 12/19/2020 10:10:13 AM (No. 636310)
I don't care who these "Elected Officials" are, they can not be permitted to pass laws that violate both their State's and the U.S. Constitution. Just knowingly doing so should be a criminal offense.
13 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
stablemoney 12/19/2020 10:11:45 AM (No. 636311)
Crime is being made legal. The Democrats are a criminal enterprise, so it is no surprise they would support this.
21 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
planetgeo 12/19/2020 10:15:43 AM (No. 636315)
it's even worse, #7...DEFENSE against crime is being made illegal!
14 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
DaBigGuy 12/19/2020 10:31:52 AM (No. 636327)
Good old Democrats, always starting with faulty premises to reach faulty conclusions. The Seattle Times lies about “the police killing of George Floyd”, who killed himself with a fentanyl overdose. And they use this to justify additional unlawful behavior? Democrats kneel for career criminals like Floyd, but never for LEO’s killed in the line of duty. Horrific misplaced priorities. And now we have a stolen election which will empower Burn Loot Murder and similar terrorist enemies of the state. Democrats must be so proud of their destruction of so many major cities through their stunning stupidity.
10 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
BarryNo 12/19/2020 10:37:20 AM (No. 636329)
If you destroy the law, then the only authority is the will of the ruler. This completely disassembles law all the way back to Hamurabi. The Democrats don't want to serve, they don't even want to rule.
They want to be GODS.
9 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
padiva 12/19/2020 10:45:37 AM (No. 636343)
Subliminal message: Homeless people are welcome in Seattle.
'Send us your tired, your poor
Your huddled masses yearning to live for free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:
I shift my laws to accommodate the lawless.'
11 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
Daisymay 12/19/2020 10:59:06 AM (No. 636364)
I guess the old saying 'You get the Government you deserve" fits in Seattle! Someone elected these people, most of the voters in Seattle are Democrats and a good many are Extremely Liberal Democrats. So, unless the people who live in that City are okay with these latest laws, they had best be heading to their closest Government Office, in Droves, and letting them know how they feel about those new Laws. I can imagine it won't be long when some Low Life decides it will be fun to set up his Tent on a High Priced Home's front yard! I guess we'll see then how much Love there is for Said Low Life People! Should be interesting. When people in Seattle start leaving by the Thousands, PULEEZE do not come to Florida! We already have all the Libs from NY heading here and bringing their Liberal views with them!
10 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
Bluefindad 12/19/2020 10:59:12 AM (No. 636365)
Will theft be means tested and graduated? You are allowed to steal a certain amount depending on your income?
This is only different from income taxes in that it is more efficient and cuts out the government middle man.
6 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
EQKimball 12/19/2020 10:59:51 AM (No. 636367)
Municipalities are generally permitted to enact local ordinances enforceable as misdemeanors or infractions, including such subjects as parking permits, leash laws, park hours, graffiti, etc. The element of specific intent is usually not required, i.e. park here and get a citation. Cities do not have the power to create crimes or defenses to crime that are the subject of state statute, such as robbery, looting, burglary, theft, etc. Such crimes are a matter of statewide concern and must be uniformly enforced. That is why the notion of a "sanctuary city" is absurd on its face. "Duress," meaning conduct (excluding murder) commanded by another by immediate force or fear, may be a defense or a mitigating factor in sentencing. "Necessity" is a common law defense, most often applied to trespass, i.e. it was necessary to run across private property to escape the pursuit of a rabid dog. Many criminals by choice live lives of relative poverty, choosing theft and occasional incarceration over gainful employment. Poverty of itself would never be recognized as a defense by the courts, because it would exempt a fluid population group and therefore would for practical purposes render criminal statutes both unconstitutionally vague and, as applied, would violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.
5 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
scottj 12/19/2020 11:00:18 AM (No. 636369)
Every thief in the country will be heading to Seattle.
9 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
gramma b 12/19/2020 11:38:10 AM (No. 636403)
The beginning of the end of private property. And is isn’t as if the productive people aren’t already being taxed enough to help this bunch.
4 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
mobyclik 12/19/2020 11:57:25 AM (No. 636412)
Did the Muckity Mucks in Loon City write a property exception for themselves? Isn't that the way these clowns usually work: ''Do as I say, not as I do.''
7 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
Krause 12/19/2020 12:00:05 PM (No. 636415)
Will we at least get reparations woke credit for the stuff they stole from us?
3 people like this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
Heraclitus 12/19/2020 12:12:23 PM (No. 636423)
The residents who helped to elect these reprobate leftists are fleeing. Most still have no clue. They've pooped in their nests and complain about the smell when they run to take up residence in nice clean abodes. Most will not learn.
The rest of us stand by as cities --more and more of them-- descend into total depravity and mayhem, turning once habitable and even beautiful regions into fetid swamps of stupidity and that special perverted grasping greed of Leftists everywhere they plant their blood-caked claws.
4 people like this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
bighambone 12/19/2020 12:25:04 PM (No. 636437)
They should bring in Joe Biden as he has a "plan" for everything. For sure such a policy will help a lot of communities as a lot of criminals will be moving to Seattle.
2 people like this.
Reply 21 - Posted by:
columba 12/19/2020 12:34:11 PM (No. 636445)
"allow thieves to sell items they steal if they do it to earn money for basic needs..."
Thomas Aquinas opined that my personal property is mine. If it is stolen, it remains my property, and the new holder of the property, whether he bought it or stole it is in possession of stolen property (which is a crime, no matter the opinion of a "city".)
5 people like this.
Reply 22 - Posted by:
leonardo 12/19/2020 12:37:42 PM (No. 636452)
"Elected officials in a major U.S. city plan to pass a law that will allow thieves to sell items they steal."
Some have proposed that political-class thieves, having NO excuse for their lies, greed and thievery, should be tried and subsequently executed for their crimes. Betcha most Americans would overwhelmingly support this measure and would even volunteer for firing squad duty.
12 people like this.
Reply 23 - Posted by:
Maggie2u 12/19/2020 12:44:02 PM (No. 636456)
Poster #17, you are so right. Just yesterday a councilwoman who voted to defund the police and de-criminalize crimes, called the cops when a mentally ill man threw a rock at her house. I just posted the story a few minutes ago if you want to read it.
2 people like this.
Reply 24 - Posted by:
mean Gene 12/19/2020 1:06:02 PM (No. 636492)
The US Constitution protects people from unlawful search and SEIZURE.
Can a lesser gov't, like a city, authorize the loss of this right?
Read it and weep, Seattle:
Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
No US gov't has the right to authorize illegal seizures of person's property.
3 people like this.
Reply 25 - Posted by:
udanja99 12/19/2020 1:08:50 PM (No. 636495)
Are crack, ecstasy, weed and booze considered to be “basic needs”?
If they pass this, we should make sure that every crook, thug and poor person in Seattle has their addresses.
3 people like this.
Reply 26 - Posted by:
mutant geezer 12/19/2020 2:55:13 PM (No. 636584)
If this should come to pass, the citizens will start dealing with the thieves themselves rather than calling the police. A lot of the criminal element will mysteriously “disappear”, never to be seen again.
2 people like this.
Reply 27 - Posted by:
BarryNo 12/19/2020 3:05:06 PM (No. 636595)
In light of current electoral revelations, have ANY OF US gotten the government we deserve?
What guarantee do you have that the will of the people has been carried out at any time during this country's existence? We can see that cheating went on, this past cycle. We know, colloquially, that many past elections have been admitted to be fraudulent after the fact.
And nothing, up till now, has been done.
It's time to change that.
2 people like this.
Reply 28 - Posted by:
dwa 12/19/2020 3:08:33 PM (No. 636600)
Pure insanity and another step toward the beginning of a civil war when you put that together with the lack of justice in the courts, especially the Supreme Court.
2 people like this.
Reply 29 - Posted by:
ROLFNader 12/20/2020 8:45:06 AM (No. 637012)
Try that around here and you'll sleeping WITH George Floyd or Floyd George, or whatever his name was............
0 people like this.
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