Comment Re:So wait... what? (Score 1) 314
You were stating, that a legal difference exists between payment and a mere "tip". I doubt it strongly...
It is the difference between an exchange and a donation. In the country where I reside, tips are "tax free" (and exempt from declaration) upto 75 Eur. This includes the money your grandmother gives you. If it is over 75Eur, it is considered income and it is taxed appropriately. Oddly enough, giving 2 times 75Eur to the same person still is tax-free.
Unfortunately — and this is a giant loophole in the American (and, possibly, British) legal system — the accused's property is not at all as protected as his person.
It depends on the relevancy for the case. And seizing of property usually requires a court order - both in US and UK - and I will tackle the civil forfeiture next.
The government can confiscate property immediately [foxnews.com] — without bothering with the Judiciary. They can't lock you up, but they can confiscate your car, cash (we suspect it is drug money, so we take it away), and even freeze bank accounts...
Well, yes and no. They could do it anyway, if a judge signs. In my country, if you commit tax fraud, this is done automatically - via a judge. The scope of civil forfeiture is quite limited, and I'd assume they must really have strong clues to use it (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/981), because regardless of what happens, authorities are liable for every damage caused by unfunded accusations/wrongful/abusive confiscations, as most countries have something related to the presumption of innocence in their constitution.
In the article I linked to, the couple's family car was confiscated on the spot — on the Executive official say-so. That alone would severely impede the accused's ability to defend himself, would not it? Simply showing up in court suddenly becomes very difficult...
2 Suggestions - stop reading fox news as actual facts, It would not impede anything. I don't own a car. The notion that people need cars to survive is stupid.
And, for each example you may find, you have hundreds that were exactly the opposite - the "bad" guys were at fault. If you have a - lets assume - 3% - error rate on a major american city, that is a huge success rate. You should see it in perspective, not the isolated cases that are the anomalies.