SET RULES FOR FORFEITURES

Wednesday, March 20, 2002 - A bipartisan plan to tighten up Colorado's
asset forfeiture laws so it's harder for cops to keep cash, fancy cars,
boats, and other booty from alleged criminal activity is long overdue.

The proposal, set for introduction this week, is sponsored in the Senate by
Democratic Sen. Bill Thiebault and in the House by Republican Rep. Shawn
Mitchell. The bill draws a bead on asset forfeiture where no charges are
filed or the person whose goods have been confiscated is acquitted.

The forfeiture laws, passed in the 1980s and fine-tuned in the early 1990s,
were intended to fight drug traffickers by taking their proceeds from cash
to trophy homes and jewelry.

Local cops, sheriffs and district attorneys often sell off the items to buy
police gear or attend conferences. But abuses crept in because the civil
court standard for forfeiture is "a preponderance of evidence" rather than
"beyond a reasonable doubt" as in criminal cases. The proposed bill would
increase the standard for forfeiture to "clear and convincing evidence,"
shifting the burden of proof onto government.

Supporters of the reform say cops often don't wait for a conviction to sell
seized property or use it for undercover operations. Even if there's no
conviction or an acquittal, the cops still hang onto confiscated property.
Many people can't afford the costly legal battles to recover their property.

Christie Donner of the Colorado Justice Reform Coalition, which backs the
plan, points to sloppy record keeping by law enforcement agencies, which
must report yearly on forfeited assets to the Department of Local Affairs.
Only six agencies consistently have filed reports since 1992: The police
departments in Englewood, Arvada, Aspen, Lakewood, and Northglenn, and the
Delta County Sheriff, she said. Often, though, information is minimal,
making it impossible to compute how many millions of dollars are seized
annually in Colorado, Donner said.

The state's district attorneys, though, are likely to oppose the change,
says Peter Weir, executive director of the Colorado District Attorneys
Association. The bill would "roll back the clock" on asset forfeiture, he
said, and deprive law enforcement of what is becoming an increasingly
important tool in fighting crime.

We support fighting crime, but we also support a more stringent standard
for forfeiture. One part of the proposal gives us pause, though: specifying
that 25 percent of the proceeds of forfeiture go to law enforcement and 75
percent to drug treatment. It's true, Colorado's drug treatment programs
are inadequate, but there's already too much earmarking of funds for
specific purposes in Colorado.

We have no quarrel with law enforcement confiscating property used in a
criminal enterprise or bought with illegal profits, but in the final
analysis, there should be safeguards to keep cops from becoming bandits
with badges.