Rand Paul Wants to put an End to FBI Home Raids

The FBI is illegally raiding the homes of innocent families without sufficient cause and it needs to stop

Use your mind’s eye to envision half a dozen FBI agents breaking down your door in the middle of the night.  Such is the nightmare scenario for most Americans. 

The nightmare gets even worse when the FBI makes such illegal raids without probable cause.  Sadly, some courts have decided nearly any reason is sufficient for probable cause.  As a result, probable cause has become somewhat of a meaningless standard.

Rand Paul Stands With Innocent Families Against the Feds

The nightmare scenario detailed above isn’t fiction; it’s real.  Rand Paul wants Americans to know that the FBI illegally raided the home of an innocent family. 

Curtrina Martin and her family were invaded by the FBI without sufficient reason.  The FBI errantly raided the Martin family’s home in the middle of the night.  The fact that the family was denied the right to sue the Feds for damages adds salt to the wound. 

Paul and other justice-minded individuals in Congress are demanding that the Supreme Court hear the family’s case.

Paul deserves credit for speaking on behalf of the family.  He deserves even more praise for reaching across the aisle to ally with Democrats for a bipartisan effort.

Congress Passed a Law to Prevent Such a Scenario

It was merely half a decade ago when Congress enacted a law to prevent situations like that described above.  However, a federal court defied the law, ruling that the family victimized by the FBI does not have the right to take legal action.

Paul wants to empower everyday citizens to sue the FBI after illegal raids.  In particular, SWAT raids conducted on the wrong doors are especially egregious miscarriages of justice.  If there are no consequences for authoritarians who conduct such raids, they will inevitably continue unchecked. 

We are at a crossroads: do we want the United States to be true to its libertarian spirit or molded in the image of China, Russia, and North Korea?

Our lawmakers and judges will decide which direction America takes.  If the highest court in the land takes up Martin’s case, civilians who are unjustly raided by the Feds will be legally empowered to sue. 

The irony is that a successful suit would be paid by us, the taxpayers.  Take a moment to pause and ponder what, exactly, is happening here. 

We are paying the federal government to conduct illegal raids on taxpaying citizens then preventing ensuing lawsuits. 

If such suits are filed and won by plaintiffs, we’ll pay the damages with even more tax dollars.  Perhaps it is a better idea to limit the authoritative scope of the FBI or even abolish the department altogether.

Piecing Together the Legal Puzzle of the Martin Saga

Central to the Martin home raid is the question of whether federal judges should be empowered to make law.  Some question whether it is prudent to give judges the agency to legislate directly from the bench. 

Those in opposition to bench legislation argue judges should be limited to interpreting law.  Interpretation paves a path toward applying the law.

The Martin family was denied a potential lawsuit for complex legal reasons.  The 11^th Circuit Court of Appeals responded to the ensuing lawsuit with immunity for the SWAT raid leader. 

Moreover, judges stated that Martin’s claims could not move forward under the FTCA.  FTCA is an acronym used to refer to the Federal Tort Claims Act.  The Act empowers people to bring state torts against the feds.

A brief to the Supreme Court written by members of Congress argued that the 11^th Circuit flipped the applicable law upside down when blocking Martin’s suit.   The law is written to ensure those subjected to the Feds’ wrong-house raids can seek justice.

Rand Paul is a hero for highlighting how the 11^th Circuit decision nullifies the applicable proviso.  Proviso is a legal term referring to a clause making that which comes before something conditional on that which follows.  In short, a proviso is a conditional stipulation.

We Must Narrow the Scope of the Federal Government

There is an argument to be made that it should be illegal for the FBI, police, and other authorities to enter a private domicile.  Some agents of the state might even stoop to presenting a fake search warrant instead of obtaining one through a judge. 

Others might obtain a search warrant after the raid and manipulate it with an incorrect date.  The harsh truth is that no one, especially the state, can be trusted.

Though eliminating home searches altogether would allow injustices to occur, that outcome might be the lesser of evils.  Keep in mind, we might not be far away from a welfare state induced by labor automation in which everyone is dependent on government. 

In such a scenario, the federal government would have total control over the food supply and currency.  Why should we allow the government to enter into our homes for any reason when its power is rapidly increasing by the day? 

Rand Paul to the Rescue

The bottom line is it is much too easy to plant evidence or otherwise frame someone for a crime after meeting the minimal standard necessary for a search warrant.  The fact that judges are corruptible humans should make you even more nervous.

Stand with Rand Paul and we’ll narrow the scope of the federal and state government down the absolute minimum.