DRUG UNIT'S SEIZURES STIR DEBATE

Lawyers Fear Abuse When Those Arrested Are Asked To Sign Papers Before
Being Represented

ROCK HILL -- Since police departments across York County joined forces to
fight drugs three years ago, officers have seized more than $370,000 in
cash and property from people suspected of selling and buying drugs,
records show.

Police and prosecutors say the money has allowed them to buy needed
equipment to further their operations, saving taxpayer dollars. But some
defense lawyers say the county's forfeiture process is unfair because
suspects are being asked to sign away their money immediately after being
arrested and before they've had a chance to consult a lawyer.

According to York County Multijurisdictional Drug Enforcement Unit records,
officers seized $373,953 in cash and property from October 1998 to the end
of August 2001. Much of the money and property was taken from suspects
during house raids and undercover drug buys.

Of the money that the drug enforcement unit has seized, about $354,000 of
it was forfeited to police, prosecutors and the state. Most of the rest is
still tied up in court, and only a tiny amount went back to the people it
was taken from.

Police and prosecutors say that although they're not required to by law,
they give suspects a form explaining that they have a right to let a judge
decide whether authorities can legally keep the seized money. Most suspects
sign a form forfeiting the money anyway.

"Most will sign it over because they know they're caught. They know it's
drug money," said Marvin Brown, commander of the drug enforcement unit. "We
don't wink and nod and make them think they're going to get a deal."

Cash, Property Seized

Most of what is seized during drug arrests is cash, but police also
occasionally take cars, guns and knives and other items they believe were
purchased with drug money or used to help sell drugs.

Derek Chiarenza, a Rock Hill defense lawyer who worked in the prosecutor's
office for four years, says the practice is unfair.

Chiarenza said that defendants, confused and ignorant of their rights,
often sign away their money thinking prosecutors will go lighter on the
criminal charges. Those who don't sign away their money, Chiarenza said,
see their cases languish for months in the court's backlog of cases.

"Defendants are often encouraged to sign over their assets at the time of
arrest, and I think that's a violation of due process," said Chiarenza, who
will be sworn in this week as a judge for the new Drug Treatment Court.
"They're not represented by an attorney, and at that time it's really not a
level playing field."

Rock Hill lawyer Adrian Cooper, who also is the legal redress chairman for
the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, agrees.
Cooper said he would like prosecutors and police to stop using the consent
form, and instead let a judge decide all cases.

Cooper said most suspects don't know what they're doing when they sign form
forfeiting their property.

"A lot of times they'll come to me wanting to do something about it, and
I'll find out that they signed the form and it's too late," Cooper said.
"There's nothing I can do but tell them not to do it again."

Brown said he understands the concern of defense lawyers, but said that
officers do not pressure suspects to sign over their property. Brown said
he does tell suspects that if they take the case to court, the process
could take months, during which their money or property is held. Brown said
he tries hard not to intimidate suspects.

"Sometimes they are a bit fuzzy-headed because they just got arrested, but
it's not like we have five officers standing over them in a jail cell,"
Brown said. "We try to make things as neutral as possible."

What The Money Buys

Deputy 16th Circuit Solicitor Kevin Brackett, whose district includes York
County, said his office has used drug forfeiture money to buy audio-visual
equipment for trials. Brown said police use most of their money to conduct
more drug buys and catch more suspects.

Six law enforcement agencies - the Rock Hill, York, Tega Cay, Clover and
Fort Mill police departments, as well as the York County Sheriff's Office -
make up the drug enforcement unit. They have used the money to buy unmarked
police cars, surveillance equipment, guns and a ballistic shield.

"I think (the system is) one that goes above and beyond what the law
requires," Brackett said. "It's one that takes the profits from illegal
narcotics and puts that money in the hands of those who are trying to stop it."

Brown said he wants the public to understand that officers only target
people who deal or sell drugs, and that a judge reviews every forfeiture,
including those where the suspect has signed a consent form.

He said on a few occasions, new police officers have seized legitimate
money, but those incidents were quickly resolved and the money returned.

"We don't stop people on the street and take their money for no reason,"
Brown said. "No police officer profits from seizing money. Yes, we may get
a ballistic shield once and a while, but most narcotics officers don't know
where the money goes. We don't take money from innocent people."