For a Fistful of Dollars

05/09/23 • 25 min

Imagine stashing your hard-earned savings in a safety deposit box, only to find out the FBI has raided the place and your money is gone thanks to the controversial practice of civil forfeiture, which allows law enforcement to seize people's assets with little explanation. That's what happened to a number of Californians who stored their cash at U.S. Private Vaults in Beverly Hills.

Join us for this season's sixth episode as we tell their story and explore how their money got caught up in a vault at the center of a federal investigation.

The story doesn't stop there. We also hear from trucker Jerry Johnson, who also experienced civil forfeiture firsthand when his $39,500 in cash was seized by the Phoenix Police Department after he flew into the city to buy a big rig. It took years and help from the Institute for Justice to get his money back.
Special guests:

Linda Martin
Benjamin Gluck, an attorney with Bird Marella
Steve Welk, a former assistant U.S. attorney
Jeni Pearsons
Dan Alban, a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice
Jerry Johnson
Bob Belden, an attorney at the Institute for Justice

This episode was produced by Kirk McDaniel. Intro music by The Dead Pens.
Editorial staff is Ryan Abbott, Sean Duffy and Jamie Ross.

Join us for this season's sixth episode as we tell their story and explore how their money got caught up in a vault at the center of a federal investigation.

Linda Martin
Benjamin Gluck, an attorney with Bird Marella
Steve Welk, a former assistant U.S. attorney
Jeni Pearsons
Dan Alban, a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice
Jerry Johnson
Bob Belden, an attorney at the Institute for Justice

This episode was produced by Kirk McDaniel. Intro music by The Dead Pens.
Editorial staff is Ryan Abbott, Sean Duffy and Jamie Ross.

Previous Episode

No Laughing Matter

A note: this episode contains language that might make you or your nana blush.

Pull up a chair as we bring you into the comedy club and beyond. Laughter may be the best medicine, but how does it hold up in court? Over the decades, courts carved out clear First Amendment protections for comics facing criminal obscenity and parodists taken a little too seriously. While the past informs the present, the rare joker can still find himself at the wrong end of the law over a Facebook post.

In our fifth episode this season, we break down how certain words are OK under the eyes of the law, courtesy of the infamous Lenny Bruce obscenity trials. We also delve into cases like Jerry Falwell's defamation lawsuit against Hustler magazine and the challenges of navigating social media and free speech. Spoiler alert: the First Amendment is not always so cut and dry, causing some parodists to find out the hard way that it does not protect all speech, funny or not.

Join us as we navigate the often amusing and sometimes controversial world of jokes and their legal consequences.
Special guests:

Waylon Bailey, heavyweight boxer from Forest Hill, Louisiana.
Douglas Linder, professor of law at the University of Missouri-Kansas City
James Flynn, managing director at Epstein Becker Green
Caroline Grace Brothers, an attorney with the Institute for Justice
Anthony Novak, parodist from Parma, Ohio
Mike Gillis, lead writer for The Onion

This episode was produced by Kirk McDaniel. Intro music by The Dead Pens.
Editorial staff is Ryan Abbott, Sean Duffy and Jamie Ross.

Next Episode

Greater Idaho Dreamin'

Should state borders change to create political havens? Come along as we take a road trip through the world of secession as we look at the urban-rural divide and how it shapes these movements.

Our first stop in our seventh episode this season? The Greater Idaho movement, a grassroots organization that aims to shift the Idaho state border to encompass eastern Oregon and escape the liberal politics of the Beaver State.

The trip wouldn’t be complete without the State of Jefferson in rural Northern California and southern Oregon, a movement driven by discontent and boosted in popularity by a San Francisco Chronicle reporter during World War II.

Buckle up, and let's hit the road!
Special guests:

This episode was produced by Kirk McDaniel. Intro music by The Dead Pens.
Editorial staff is Ryan Abbott, Sean Duffy and Jamie Ross.

Sidebar by Courthouse News - For a Fistful of Dollars

Transcript

(Sound of vault opening)

Hillel Aron: Like many Americans, Linda Martin and her husband Reggie were saving up to buy a house. And they were able to save a lot of money – $40,000. And for a while, they just kept it around in cash. They wanted to put their money somewhere, but they didn’t want it in a bank. Linda says she didn’t want to be tempted to spend it.

Linda Martin: I didn't want the money in my hands or anywhere near my hands. Accessible in my, you know, just, I didn'