COUNTY HALTS FORFEITURE CASES

The Multnomah County District Attorney Advises Police Agencies To
Suspend Property Seizures, Citing Confusion Over Measure 3

The Multnomah County district attorney's office has thrown out about
15 unresolved drug forfeiture cases and will not file any new ones
until Oregon law is amended to reflect Measure 3 reforms.

In a memorandum to all county law enforcement agencies, District
Attorney Michael Schrunk said it would be unwise to proceed with such
forfeiture cases because there are too many ambiguities resulting
from the passage of Measure 3, which takes effect today.

The county is also concerned that police agencies and prosecutors
could be penalized with fines triple the value of forfeited property
if a case does not conform to Measure 3.

"We have moved on the side of caution," Schrunk said Wednesday. "The
risk is relatively high because of the lack of procedures. If we get
an adverse ruling, a government agency may be subject to damages."

Measure 3 amends the state constitution to prohibit local and state
governments from claiming property through civil forfeiture
proceedings unless the owner is first convicted of a crime involving
the seized property.

Schrunk's sweeping directive comes as a work group in Salem, made up
of proponents and critics of the measure, is drafting a bill that
reflects the changes voters approved. If the process runs smoothly, a
bill could be presented to state lawmakers next month.

But until then, Oregon law enforcement agencies, including the
Portland Police Bureau, Oregon State Police and some of the 25
regional drug task forces across the state, have decided to restrict
their forfeiture cases. Yet they pledge to remain aggressive in drug
enforcement.

Measure 3 advocates called Multnomah County's and other police
restrictions unnecessary.

"I think it's an overreaction," said Dave Fidanque, executive
director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon, who helped
draft the measure. "It sounds overly cautious to me."

Under Measure 3, police can continue to seize property they suspect
is associated with illegal activity. But before the agencies can
claim the property for resale or their own use, the following would
have to be met: The owner would have to be convicted of a crime, the
government would have to show clear and convincing evidence that the
property it wants to claim was associated with an illegal activity,
and the value of the property claimed must be proportionate to the
severity of the crime.

The measure also bars law enforcement from pocketing the proceeds
from the sale or confiscation of forfeited property and directs the
money to be used for drug treatment or education instead.

Police suspend some seizures In light of Schrunk's directive,
Portland police and the Regional Organized Crime Narcotics Task
Force, a multiagency team in Portland known as ROCN, will temporarily
suspend the seizure of cash or cars or property they suspect is tied
to drug activity, unless it is criminal evidence.

City police also will temporarily stop seizing cars from suspected
johns who solicit prostitutes and will not try to permanently
confiscate the vehicles of repeat drunken drivers, actions that have
been allowed through local ordinance. With forfeiture proceeds no
longer flowing back to law enforcement agencies, Portland police said
they will not have enough funding to store seized vehicles for the
period it takes to obtain a conviction.

"The best approach for us is to put the brakes on everything and just
slow down and see where it is we go," said Capt. Jim Ferraris, who
supervises the Portland police drug and vice division.

Capt. Alan Orr, who commands the 10-member ROCN task force, said it
operates on an annual $2 million budget, relying on about half a
million dollars from forfeiture proceeds each year. He estimates that
the accumulated forfeiture revenue will dry up in four years, and the
task force will then have to find alternative financing from grants
or local governments to continue operating.

In recent weeks, Multnomah County prosecutors have dismissed about 15
low-level forfeiture cases stemming from minor drug possession or
distribution cases in which convictions are not expected, returning
small amounts of seized cash to owners, Schrunk said.

The county also transferred about five cases to the U.S. attorney's
office for federal forfeiture -- a transfer that Measure 3 will now
prohibit. One county case, for example, was filed in U.S. District
Court on Wednesday in which authorities are attempting to seize a
Southeast Portland residence where Portland police said they had
found a marijuana-growing operation in a basement bunker.

Whether the federal government would be able to share the proceeds
from any forfeited property with state or local agencies is still
under debate. Measure 3 proponents say no, but the sharing of federal
proceeds is already being challenged in court.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Leslie Westphal, who handles federal
forfeiture cases, said she expects the federal forfeiture workload in
Oregon to grow.

"In the past, we have not gone after smaller cases," she said. "But
now that the local agencies don't have that authority, we're going to
have to take many of those."

Oregon State Police are putting a temporary halt on forfeiture cases
in which the property seized has a value of less than $10,000, and
they will not seize any vehicles related to drug crimes.

"This is just an interim action," said State Police Lt. John Salle,
commander of the 36-officer state police drug enforcement section.
"We didn't want to continue to do business as usual because the
complexion of the law has changed."

In other counties, forfeiture cases are proceeding, but with
increased scrutiny.

In Washington County, the Westside Interagency Narcotics Team has
been instructed to continue to seize property in drug cases, only if
it expects criminal charges involving the seized property to be
brought against the owner. The team also has been told to clearly
document the connection between the property taken and the crime
committed, said Bill Blair, senior assistant Washington County
counsel.

In Lincoln County, which is suing the state claiming Measure 3 is
unconstitutional, no directives have been issued to law enforcement.

"I'm analyzing each on a case-by-case basis," said Rob Bovett,
assistant county counsel.