Pubdate: Tue, 05 Oct 1999 Source: Tampa Tribune (FL) Copyright: 1999, The Tribune Co. Contact: http://www.tampatrib.com/ Forum: http://tampabayonline.net/interact/welcome.htm Author: Scott Hiaasen, Of Cox News Service FORFEITURE LAW HELPS FINANCE WAR ON DRUG DEALERS WEST PALM BEACH - Seizing property has become standard police practice, one that's also extraordinarily profitable. In South Florida, when police investigate a crime, they are thinking about more than just who should be arrested and what the charges should be. They are also wondering if there is any property involved that the police department can keep for itself. They do it all the time: grabbing a car used to drive to a drug deal, snapping up tools used to strip a stolen car, taking money used to buy and sell drugs, or keeping a computer used to download child pornography. They can take any property used in a felony. Police see the forfeiture law as one of their most powerful weapons against crime. But a Palm Beach Post examination of how the law is used shows: - -- Sometimes innocent people lose their property. For example, if you lend your car to someone to buy groceries and they get caught buying crack instead, the police can take your car and you may not get it back. - -- Nearly half the people whose property is seized - and a third of those who lose it in court - are not convicted of a crime. - -- Poor defendants are hurt by the law more than the big-time drug dealers and criminals who can afford to hire lawyers. - -- Even some police and their lawyers admit police make decisions on seized property based on money, not justice. Police in Florida collected $124 million this way from April 1996 to March 1999 - including $7.4 million seized in Palm Beach County, the third-highest total for any county. Millions more was collected by federal authorities and shared with local police. The Palm Beach County, Sheriff's Office hauled in $4.3 million, making it the most aggressive agency in the county. St. Lucie County authorities seized just over $1 million in that time, and police in Martin County collected $501,000. With this money, police can bankroll long investigations, buy high-tech equipment, meet state and federal grant goals, and assist crime prevention programs. Last year, for example, the Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office used $453,000 in seized assets to buy, The Palm Beach County, Sheriff's Office hauled in $4.3 million, making it the most aggressive agency in the county. St. Lucie County authorities seized just over $1, million in that time, and police in Martin County collected $501,000. With this money, police can bankroll long investigations, buy high-tech equipment, meet state and federal grant goals, and assist crime prevention programs. Last year, for example, the Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office used $453,000 in seized assets to buy, among other things, six video cameras for patrol cars, 10 bulletproof vests, 25 bicycles and 27 "less lethal" weapons that fire beanbag and polyurethane bullets. The sheriffs office also donated $328,000 to various youth groups and anti drug programs. Police are supposed to look at forfeitures as a way to prevent crime by stripping criminals of their tainted wealth. But in practice, as police and property own duel over the stakes, nearly every move and countermove is made with money in mind: The police want to collect as much money as possible while spending little, and property owners try to get back much as they can without placing themselves at risk in criminal court. "It's like its own little ball park," said Catherine Kozol, legal adviser to the Delray Beach Police Department. "It's kind of a game. I hate to say it that way, but it is. It's who can outsmart who." The peculiar nature of forfeiture law has spawned a court system unto itself - one that blends criminal issues with the rules of civil lawsuit. Defense lawyers say this system is harder on the poor than on high-powered drug traffickers. For every major seizure that can be linked to a large drug organization, police seize dozens of cars from people possessing small amounts of drugs, or those accused of a comparably minor crime. "The statute had some good intentions to punish the big-time trafficker," said Stephen Melnick, a lawyer who once prosecuted forfeiture cases for the Boca Raton Police Department. "But the only one getting punished is the smalltime user." "They [police] use forfeiture law to raise money," said Jim Eisenberg, a West Palm Beach defense lawyer who handles dozens of seizures every year. "It's the most regressive tax that's ever been established. It's the poor that get hit the hardest." Once a seizure has been made, the owner is thrust into a complicated legal process separate from any criminal charges he may face. In fact, the police can seize property without even arresting anyone. Forfeiture law is based on the premise that the property itself is at fault, regardless of who owns it. The standard of proof needed for the police to keep property is lower than the standard necessary to make an arrest. Property owners must fight the police at their own expense, and even those who are cleared of criminal charges can lose their belongings. A Palm Beach Post analysis of 678 seizures in Palm Beach County from 1996 to 1998 shows that property owners who have their belongings taken by the police are found guilty in about 50 percent of the cases. The analysis shows that this system can put the poor at a disadvantage. For example: - -- Defendants represented by the public defender in criminal court are more likely to lose their property entirely, because the public defender is barred from handling forfeiture cases. Private lawyers hired to fight the criminal charges typically negotiate a settlement with the police in return for the property. - -- Because they didn't have a lawyer, some defendants have lost their property for as little as a $5 crack rock, even though seizures over such a small amount of drugs could be considered an excessive fine under the Constitution. - -- So-called "innocent owners," those whose cars were used in a crime without their knowledge, sometimes must pay an "administrative fee" to get their cars back usually about $250. Over the years, police in Palm Beach County have seized all sorts of items: guns, cameras, computers, boats, engines, cellular phones, Jet Skis, jewelry, even an airplane (which crashed with 777 pounds of cocaine on board) and a golf cart (the getaway car in a Boca Raton burglary). But cash and cars are the most common. In St. Lucie County, the Sheriffs Office files just two or three forfeiture cases a month. But because it often costs more to file the cases than it's worth, the Sheriffs Office usually just levies fees - usually between $250 and $750 - that suspects must pay to get vehicles back. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek Rea