DRUG WARRIORS ARE DODGING CONSTITUTION

Property Forfeitures

I cannot let Gregory Lemke's support of civil forfeiture go unanswered
("Property forfeitures: Don't give the drug dealers chance to profit from
wrong," Letters, March 19). First, the drug war is a feckless joke and
always will be. Too many people see nothing wrong with an occasional toot
or toke, just as they see nothing wrong with an occasional snort or smoke.
As long as one obeys the old philosopher's dictum that nothing should be
done to excess, these people are probably right.

Secondly, civil forfeiture does violence to the American spirit (and the
Constitution's Fifth Amendment). Civil forfeiture is used by the
authorities when they know they have no evidence, only suspicions, but want
to jam you up anyway. It is a hoary, vicious anachronism left over from the
British monarchy, wherein the king could do pretty much as he pleased. It
lay forgotten for almost 200 years until the drug warriors found it to be a
nice dodge around that pesky old Constitution.

Let's be frank: Civil forfeiture is nothing more or less than a license to
steal. Under its provisos, the government can take anything on any pretext
as long as it nods in the direction of conventional wisdom.

But that's just half of the problem: Once your home, your bank accounts and
all your possessions are theirs, your only recourse is to convince a judge
that you deserve to have your belongings returned. Of course, the
prosecuting attorney will be there telling the judge that you don't.
Success will cost a wad and take years of pettifogging, for the state will
fight you every step of the way.

And just think, to get this treatment from your public servants, you never
need suffer the inconveniences of being arrested, charged, indicted,
convicted or sentenced - for anything. Nevertheless, there you will be,
sent into penury by the state for being suspected of being suspicious.

Not many years ago we loaded up with H-bombs and prepared for war unto
destruction against a government that did things like this. Now that the
Soviet Union is gone, it ill-behooves us to adopt its more malodorous
practices.

Civil forfeiture belongs on the dung heap of injustice. I thank Mr. Lemke
for pointing out the two bills, SB 5935 and HB 1995, which aim to send it
there. I have voiced my support for them. I strongly urge anyone who
doesn't want to be dispossessed willy-nilly by the state to do likewise.

Thomas H. LaBelle
Clearview