Pubdate: Mon, 11 Dec 2006
Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune (FL)
Copyright: 2006 Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Contact:  http://www.heraldtribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/398
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/af.htm (Asset Forfeiture)

UNREASONABLE SEIZURES

Bradenton's Weak Defense Of 'Waivers'

Bradenton officials continue to defend the Police Department's 
questionable practice of seizing cash and other property from people, 
without establishing even probable cause that the items might be 
linked to a crime.

This practice generates money for the city, but it erodes civil 
rights - - and it could eventually cost taxpayers money.

Last week, the city responded to a court challenge by 20-year-old 
Delane Johnson, who surrendered $10,200 to police when they stopped 
him outside an apartment building this summer. Police asserted the 
money was tied to drug activity, but Johnson was never convicted of a crime.

Johnson's attorneys contest the validity of documents that Bradenton 
police have used to take property from people they accuse of criminal 
wrongdoing.

Ordinarily, such seizures occur under the Florida Contraband 
Forfeiture Act. The act enables law enforcement agencies to seize 
property but requires that they show probable cause in court that the 
items are tied to crime.

The state standards for seizures aren't strict but they're better 
than Bradenton's. The city and a few other agencies in Florida have 
set up an alternate procedure, through which they ask individuals to 
sign documents waiving their right to appeal -- to a judge -- the 
seizure of their property. A court conviction is not required for the 
seizure; in some cases, Bradenton police have taken property from 
individuals and not charged them with a crime.

The practice has drawn criticism from legal scholars and defense 
attorneys who question its constitutionality.

In their court filing, attorneys for Bradenton contend that the 
waivers are within law enforcement's discretionary powers and are 
actually not part of the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act. The 
latter claim is interesting, given that the documents -- until 
recently -- bore the title, "Contraband Forfeiture Agreement."

The city's attorneys point to court cases in Ohio upholding 
forfeiture agreements. But the cases cited involved defendants who 
surrendered property as part of plea agreements with prosecutors -- 
not documents that bypass judicial review, as these waivers do.

Regardless of whether Bradenton prevails in this case, city officials 
should demand that the police discontinue the use of these waivers 
and instead pursue forfeitures through the courts, as the Manatee 
County Sheriff's Office and other local agencies do.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman