Pubdate: 1 Mar 1999
Source: United Press International
Copyright: 1999 United Press International

NATIONAL INTEREST IN NYC CAR SEIZURES

(NEW YORK) - The New York Police Department has started seizing the cars of
suspected drunken drivers, and officials from more than a half dozen
American cities and several countries have been calling the mayor's office
to find out more. N-Y-P-D spokeswoman Marilyn Mode says even drivers
acquitted of drunken driving in criminal court could lose their cars in
civil court under the new policy. She said the closest analogy is the O-J
Simpson case. The department has seized roughly 30 vehicles since the
crackdown started last week.

The New York Civil Liberties Union has already demanded the return of one
of the cars, setting the stage for a civil court battle that will determine
whether the mayor has overstepped his bounds by using the city's
administrative code to justify the seizures. N-Y-C-L-U Executive Director
Normal Siegal says the punishment for drunken driving must be determined by
the state legislature, not local ordinances. Mayor Rudolph Giuliani calls
the seizures remedial, and city lawyers say the policy will withstand a
court challenge.

An unnamed police official tells the New York Times the majority of the 18-
hundred cars seized last year under city ordinances for drug, prostitution
and driving without a license cases were sold back to their owners by the
city at the market resale value. In almost all other cases, the drivers
surrendered their cars, avoiding a potentially costly and protracted legal
battle. The official said less than 1 percent of car seizures end up in
civil court. 
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