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> Likely someone with lawyers could get that lowered to nothing

I wouldn't be so sure. Cops have implicit prosecutorial attorneys too that have a lot more experience with such cases than do defense attorneys.

There is no substitute for clarity in law. All else opens the door to exploitation and selective application, both of which are a mockery of justice.

> anyone with half a brain can see the problem with that ruling.

If the definition of the word “reasonable” was left in the other half then sure.

It’s the job that of the court to define what is “reasonable” on a case by case basis and establish a precedent. They can’t start coming up with laws themselves that clearly establish universal and specific limits.

That means they have to be able to hold onto the property for 300 years and be able to verifiably return it to the estate beneficiaries. That costs a lot of money, better to just hold onto things for a short period of time while they are relevant and not steal them or throw them away.