Pubdate: Sun, 16 Jun 2013
Source: Marietta Daily Journal (GA)
Copyright: 2013 The Marietta Daily Journal.
Contact:  http://www.mdjonline.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1904

SOME PUSH TO CHANGE STATE'S FORFEITURE LAWS

by The Associated Press

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
enforcement 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.

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."

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 was repeatedly 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 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 out 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.

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?"

In Georgia, Willard introduced a bill that would have made it harder
to seize property. He found support from the Institute for Justice,
Americans For Prosperity, the American Civil Liberties Union and
criminal defense lawyers. After the setback in the Legislature,
supporters are pressuring the state Republican Party to adopt a
resolution calling for better controls.

The bill would have raised the level of proof required before the
government can take property. Right now, law enforcement officials
need only show probable cause that something was obtained through
illicit means before taking it - essentially, circumstantial evidence.
Willard wants to require that prosecutors show clear and convincing
proof, a notch below the standard used to convict in criminal cases.

The measure would also have forced law enforcement officials to make
greater efforts to notify owners when property is seized. Police
agencies that fail to submit required annual financial reports showing
how much they seize and spend could lose the ability to spend
confiscated funds for two years.

"We're not picking on law enforcement," Willard said. "I just think
they need to be open to public scrutiny like everyone else is."
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MAP posted-by: Matt