Tampa's George Williams plea bargains in adverse possession conviction
Bob Hurt
George Williams plea bargained in a Tampa adverse possession court case. He accepted two years of house confinement.
I wrote these comments at the above link:
Williams did not have the juice to litigate the case. I think he might have won if he had taken the issue to court with a motivated, skilled attorney. Why?
· To begin with, investigators often lie to make an arrest, as happened in the Joel McNair case (see his story on my blog http://bobhurt.blogspot.com).
· Second, unless the owner complains (which foreclosure abandoneers seldom do unless prompted by police), police /sheriff has no right interfering.
· Third, adverse possession laws in Florida Statutes 95.16 and 95.18 make it obvious that adverse possession is a lawful way to acquire real estate, and government has no right to convert exercise of that right into a crime without the equitable owner's consent.
NONE of these realities came out in the case because the Williams plea bargained. Police harassment of adverse possessors amounts to little more than official terrorism. Furthermore nobody loses by adverse possession - the adverse possessor protects and cares for the property, typically, keeping the community safer and property values higher. And the adverse possessor must move if the court orders it at the conclusion of the foreclosure. No harm = no foul.
Adverse Possessors who want to work together to minimize risk and defend their rights should subscribe to the AP Law Advocacy Group. send email to adverseposses...@googlegroups.com.
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Bob Hurt
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