Thi Chi,
I think I overreacted a bit in that thread, so I'm also sorry.
I agree with your view on asset forfeiture. Here in Cali, we had a case of a landowner in Malibu who had a large ranch (I don't recall size, but around 50 acres of some of the most expensive land in Cali). His last name was Scott. His live in girlfriend was spending $100 bills around town, which allegedly led to suspicion. The park service began running title searches on Mr. Scott's land, salivating at the idea of an asset forfeiture. Law enforcement conducted aerial surveillance, and based on such surveillance, a search warrant was obtained to search for a large marijuana crop Mr. Scott was allegedly growing.
Law enforcement raided Mr. Scott's house, and Mr. Scott, who was drunk at the time, viewed these officers, who were clad in black, as intruders, and armed himself. He was shot dead, and the raid turned up absolutely no marijuana (or any other contraband), not even a seed. The decedent's girlfriend filed a $5M lawsuit against the county, and the case created much controversy due to the absolute lack of contraband and the title searches performed by the park service prior to the raid.
Many in the community viewed Mr. Scott's death as a very unfortunate result of the asset forfeiture laws in this state.