Pubdate: Thu, 03 Jan 2002
Source: Casper Star-Tribune (WY)
Copyright: 2002 Casper Star-Tribune
Contact:  http://www.trib.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/765
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/af.htm (Asset Forfeiture)

APPEALS COURT RULES IN HOME SEIZURE CASE

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Federal law overrides an Oklahoma law that 
exempts homes used in drug crimes from being taken by state 
authorities, an appeals court ruled.

That means the federal government can take an Oklahoma home if its 
owner is selling or possessing drugs.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver ruled 3-0 Wednesday 
that a federal law on property forfeiture preempts a state law that 
prohibits home seizure.

The case began with Nanette Lees, a Wagoner grandmother who is 
awaiting trial on a state charge of possessing Valium. Federal 
authorities want to seize and sell her $136,000 home.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Linda Epperley in Muskogee received approval 
from a U.S. District Court jury and Judge Frank Seay for the federal 
government to take ownership of Lees' home. She said the house was 
used to facilitate a federal drug crime.

Police found a large quantity of Valium pills in a bag Lees had in 
her home in 1999. They also found a gallon-sized bag of suspected 
marijuana, a set of scales and suspected steroids, primarily in her 
grandson's bedroom.

In the appeal, Lees claimed her property, a homestead, was not 
subject to forfeiture because of Oklahoma law.

The court sided against Lees, but instructed Seay to make specific 
findings about whether taking Lees' home would be an excessive 
penalty, disproportionate to the gravity of the offense.

Epperley said she was confident that could be done.

Lees previously was on probation for possessing 33,600 Valium 
tablets. She was arrested in 1998 at a border checkpoint near Laredo, 
Texas.

Her grandson, Jade Lees, was arrested on a state drug charge in 1999 
at the same time she was arrested at their home.
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