Magna Carta 1215 - the police can take your stuff; but not steal it; they have to pay you the value upfront?

Question

In translation, it reads

"28. No constable or any other baliff shall take any man's corn or other chattels unless he pays cash for them at once or can delay payment With the agreement of the seller."

So how did that all go wrong? How is it that they are so careless of seized property? Wasn't the whole tradition about protecting your personal property from the simple greed of the King or his servants ?

Very often, unjustly seized property isn't secured, or returned, hence my question!

Most common law is based on the MC. It was reinforced throughout history, because people weren't happy with the imbalance of power.

Besides, everything back then was done at swordpoint and is of questionable validity. I'm questioning how it became OK to do what the barons originally rebelled against. Having signed it, he butchered people. They didn't tolerate that for very long.

I should probably add that I realise how old this founding document is. How did it become fine for serfs to prove their credit-rating in advance, and pay interest while they await compensation, and yet they agreed to that? Don't people get tired of this every 500 years or so?

I've looked through the amendments. I cannot identify which one effectively reversed that principle! How did it get eroded? Where are the cops with a blank cheque to say 'whatever it takes, we could be wrong about you'?

Answer 1

While the Magna Carta is British it is part of the common law upon which the legal system of the US is based. All of our rights in law are being whittled away. The seizing of property is definitely one in a long string of violations of our rights and freedoms under the bill of rights.

Answer 2

~A. Assuming you are an American, Magna Carta is irrelevant. It is an English document with no force or effect on this side of the pond. Assuming you are British, Magna Carta has been in part supplemented, rescinded, extended and otherwise modified over the centuries by succeeding legislation.
B. Magna Carta, having been signed by John under duress and literally at swordpoint, is of questionable validity.
C. Rather than to use bailments, today we use warrants.
D. If the seized property is contraband, it was never covered; if not, it is returned or compensation shall be made.
E. Magna Carta protected the peerage, not the serfs.
F. The "tradition" was for the Barons to keep their holdings intact and to limit the authority of the crown as to THEM. From John's perspective, it was to stay alive and to salvage what little he had left.
G. Runnymeade didn't happen in a vaccuum. Read up on the context.