Pubdate: Thu, 22 Sep 2005
Source: Las Vegas City Life (NV)
Copyright: 2005 Las Vegas City Life
Contact:  http://www.lasvegascitylife.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1653
Author: Steve Sebelius
Note: Steve Sebelius is Editor of Citylife.
Cited: Boulder City http://www.bcnv.org/
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n1503/a01.html
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n1493/a08.html
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/opinion.htm (Opinion)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/af.htm (Asset Forfeiture)

SEIZE THIS!

Both the Las Vegas Sun and the Review-Journal jumped all over Dave
Olsen, city attorney of sleepy Boulder City, when he filed a lawsuit
to seize the home of Cynthia Warren.

Boulder City police, ably assisted by the SWAT team from nearby
Henderson, stormed Warren's home in April to discover six marijuana
plants and various and sundry marijuana-related paraphernalia inside.
She was arrested, charged with several felonies, and ultimately pled
no contest to possession of a controlled substance. But before she
entered her plea, Olsen filed a lawsuit to seize her house, valued at
around $400,000, contending it was part of the instrumentality of her
crime.

"In the drug world, this thing is probably nothing. But in a town of
15,000 people where we have one or two children die every year because
of controlled substances, it is a big deal to us," Olsen told the R-J.
To the Sun, he added: "The best way to send a message to folks that
drug distribution to young people won't be tolerated is to take away
their house. This gets their attention. We're sending a message loud
and clear that if you package and distribute drugs from your house,
you lose your home. Hopefully, it will act as a deterrent."

And you know what? I agree with him, wholeheartedly. We must seize the
property of those who put children in danger, and we must do it now.

So that's why we've got to immediately seize Dave Olsen's
motorcycle.

You see, in 2004, Olsen pled no contest to drunken driving, a crime
that surely has taken more lives than marijuana ever will. Anti-DUI
advocates are fond of saying that, with a drunken driver at the
controls, a vehicle is a weapon, surely one more dangerous than
Cynthia Warren's house.

Call the Boulder City police, and get the Henderson SWAT team for
backup. There could be a standoff.

The problem with Olsen is not just that he's a hypocrite -- although
he surely is -- it's that he's also not telling the truth.

One or two children die in Boulder City every year because of
controlled substances? That would mean, over the past decade, Boulder
City has lost 10-20 kids to drugs. That's not even remotely true. Of
the two kids Olsen cites who did die of drug overdoses, neither died
from marijuana. In fact, in the most widely cited case of marijuana
related deaths -- Jessica Williams -- a jury specifically found
Williams was not under the influence of the drug when she fell asleep
at the wheel, ran off the road and killed six teenagers doing
community service work.

Olsen rails against Warren for drug distribution to kids -- but she
was not convicted of selling marijuana, much less selling it to kids.
In that, he's punishing her for a crime of which she's not been
convicted, a violation of the U.S. Constitution and his own oath of
office.

The system, such as it is, worked the way it was supposed to work:
Police raided Warren's home, found drugs, and arrested her. Olsen
asked for her to be charged with a variety of offenses, but a more --
ahem -- sober Clark County District Attorney's office elected to
proceed only with a possession charge, which they disposed of with a
plea bargain, a $500 fine and a 30-day suspended jail sentence.

Not content, however, Olsen proceeds to try to seize Warren's home in
an entirely separate civil proceeding where she must prove her
innocence, another constitutional violation. If Boulder City is
successful, it will reap part of the windfall from the sale of
Warren's home. Perhaps the city could hire Olsen a police driver, just
to keep him out of trouble?

Outrage barely covers it: Regardless of what the law says, Olsen is
engaging in an act of theft. Warren committed a crime, and was
punished for committing a crime. Olsen's exacting a punishment for
something Warren never did in the eyes of the law, making wild and
untrue claims in the process. He should drop this case immediately,
and if he doesn't, Boulder City fathers should find the courage to
order him to stop.

In the meantime, will somebody look at seizing that motorcycle? I
think we'd all feel safer if they did.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake