Pubdate: Sun, 16 Jun 2013
Source: Chattanooga Times Free Press (TN)
Copyright: 2013 Associated Press
Contact:  http://www.timesfreepress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/992
Note: Paper does not publish LTE's outside its circulation area
Author: Ray Henry, The Associated Press

CIVIL FORFEITURE LAWS TARGETED

ATLANTA (AP) - Alda Gentile was not arrested. She was not charged 
with a crime. Yet police in Georgia seized $ 11,530 in cash that 
Gentile said she had in a car for a house-hunting trip in Florida.

Police confiscated the money after stopping the car, driven by her 
son, for speeding. They searched for drugs but found nothing.

Her case has become a rallying cry for libertarian, conservative and 
other groups seeking to change laws in Georgia that allow law 
officers to seize property and cash from people who have not been 
convicted of crimes, a process known as civil forfeiture.

Lawmakers in at least four states have proposed changing similar 
laws, with varying levels of intensity and success.

Those seeking to change the system say the process allows police to 
skirt the higher standards of proof needed in criminal trials and 
puts those who lose property in the position of having to prove their 
innocence.

"I never even thought it was anything illegal about bringing cash," 
said Gentile, who got the money back after days of frantic phone 
calls. "They made me feel like a criminal."

The leader of the Georgia Sheriffs' Association says the success of 
forfeiture laws cannot be judged based on isolated cases. Putnam 
County Sheriff Howard Sills, whose agency was not involved in the 
seizure from Gentile, said the system is supposed to make sure that 
someone sent to prison for drug dealing cannot enjoy cars and cash 
obtained through illegal means once they are released. He noted that 
Gentile got her money back, and he accused his opponents of coddling 
criminals while fighting against legislation to set stricter rules in Georgia.

"That bill would have only benefited, in my personal and professional 
opinion, criminals and the lawyers who represent them," he said.

CHANGE SOUGHT

Gentile's case is championed by one of the largest groups seeking 
change. The Virginia-based Institute For Justice, a libertarian law 
firm, brought her to testify in support of the bill. Lawmakers are 
making similar efforts or at least pushing for transparency in 
Michigan, Minnesota and Texas. Meanwhile, lawmakers in Tennessee 
voted to give people more rights in forfeiture proceedings.

No single agency in Georgia tracks exactly how much property is 
seized and how the proceeds are spent. Police agencies are supposed 
to file annual reports on their seizures and spending, but many 
ignore the requirement. In 2011, the Institute For Justice 
successfully sued to force metro Atlanta police agencies to follow 
the reporting requirements.

Some agencies use the money to buy police weapons, fund education 
programs or buy office furniture. Other spending is more 
controversial. Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard, for 
example, spent thousands of dollars on security doors to his house 
and football tickets, according to records reviewed by the Atlanta 
Journal-Constitution.

After that disclosure, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal announced this month 
that he will direct the state's Criminal Justice Reform Council to 
study changes to the system. The council is supposed to report back 
to Deal before the start of the next legislative session in January.

"While it's too early to speculate on possible changes, the governor 
said it's obvious that the system requires more transparency," Deal 
spokesman Brian Robinson said in a statement.

This year's legislative effort sparked a backlash from sheriffs. They 
visited the Statehouse, testified against the proposal and met 
one-on-one with lawmakers. It worked. Facing a likely defeat, the 
bill's sponsor, Rep. Wendell Willard, R- Sandy Springs, decided to 
put off a vote until next year.

"They basically staged an invasion in uniform of the Capitol building 
and took up most of the space," said Virginia Galloway of Americans 
For Prosperity, which supported the legislation. "They were down 
there in force. We kind of joked at the Capitol what a great day to 
commit a crime in Georgia because every one of them seemed to be here."

COSTLY TRAFFIC STOP

For Gentile, her troubles began when a Georgia State Patrol trooper 
accused her son of speeding on Interstate 95 and pulled over their 
rental car, according to a police report. Under questioning, 
Gentile's son, 19, said his mother had cash tucked in a 
green-and-white wipes container in the trunk.

Gentile said she had talked to a real estate agent about buying or 
renting a winter home in Florida and brought the money on a road trip 
during which they looked at homes. Gentile, a limousine driver in New 
York, said she is paid mostly in cash.

Gentile said she repeatedly was asked whether she or her son had 
drugs - none were found.

Officers used a dog to search her car, but they did not report 
finding anything or file criminal charges. Records show that a 
trooper said he seized the cash on the advice of an agent from the 
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

State Patrol Maj. Eddie Grier said officers took the cash because 
they were suspicious that Gentile could be trafficking drugs. Grier 
said troopers told him that a police dog indicated it smelled 
narcotics on the cash, though this was not mentioned in the initial 
police report. Gentile denies any involvement in drug trade and said 
she believes police tried coaxing the dog into responding.

Grier ultimately returned the money to Gentile. State and federal 
prosecutors were not interested in seizing it. Grier said most people 
involved in drug trafficking would abandon illicit money rather than 
risk additional scrutiny trying to get it back.

"I'll be honest with you - I just sort of believed her," Grier said.

No agency in Georgia tracks how often people file legal action or 
take steps to get their property back, but it does happen. For 
example, a deputy sheriff in Georgia's Greene County stopped David 
Bowman for a traffic violation in March 2012 and found what was 
suspected to be marijuana, according to a police report. Searching 
the vehicle, police found roughly $15,000 in cash bundled in Bank of 
America wrappers. Bowman was arrested on a child support warrant in 
South Carolina, and the cash was seized.

Bowman's cousin, Chicago Bears defensive back Tim Jennings, went to 
the police station and explained that he had taken the money from his 
own bank account to assist his cousin and had bank documents to prove 
it, Greene County Capt. Scott Smith said. The money was returned to Jennings.

TEXAS BILL FAILS

In Texas, Democratic state Rep. Naomi Gonzalez in March introduced 
legislation that would have forced law enforcement agencies to make 
detailed filings about their property seizures and spending to the 
state auditor's office. Later that month, Gonzalez crashed her BMW 
into another car, injured a bicyclist and was charged with driving 
while intoxicated. She kept a relatively low profile afterward, and 
the bill failed.

And a measure in Minnesota would end a system that allows police to 
seize property in drug cases when a defendant has not been convicted 
of a crime. In Michigan, Republican state Rep. Tom McMillin said he 
planned to introduce legislation requiring greater disclosure when 
police take property.

"I'm interested in incentives," McMillin said. "What are the 
incentives built into civil asset forfeiture? Where does the money go?"
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom