SEIZURE LAW UNDER REVIEW

Police's Policy Of Seizing Criminals' Cars Draws Criticism

A $10 bag of marijuana cost Jacquelyn Sweet nearly $1,000, with half
of that earmarked for the Bradenton Police Department.

Sweet, arrested earlier this month on a misdemeanor possession charge,
instantly and unwillingly joined a growing list of residents who have
had their vehicles seized as part of a little-known city ordinance.

A 21-year-old waitress who attends St. Petersburg College, Sweet lost
her car, handed over hundreds of dollars to a towing company and found
out the hard way that local cities have the right to take cars for
even the smallest of crimes.

"I'm like, what are you doing? I was upset," recalled Sweet, who said
the tow truck arrived minutes after the officer spotted the small bag
of marijuana in her car after pulling her over for speeding.

"I couldn't imagine how I was going to get it back."

The Bradenton Police Department is among numerous agencies across
Florida that consider the fine -- usually $500 -- a crime-fighting
initiative that hits drug dealers and other crooks in the wallet.

But legal scholars say the fine amounts to state-sponsored extortion,
and even the Florida Supreme Court said this summer it has "serious"
constitutional concerns with the policy.

A pending case in an appellate court could doom the seizure policy
across the state and force law enforcement agencies to return
thousands of dollars collected in fines.

"They are money-making ordinances in the guise of fighting
prostitution and other minor crimes," said Miami-based attorney Ronald
S. Guralnick, who is challenging the car seizures and fines in a
class-action lawsuit. "There are huge sums of money involved."

Cities like Bradenton and Sarasota have used the procedure since at
least 2000, targeting drug users and "johns" to seize hundreds of cars
- -- and rake in tens of thousands of dollars -- each year.

The policy is based on city ordinances that give police the right to
take a vehicle if it is used during crimes such as drug possession and
prostitution. In Bradenton, authorities hauled in almost 800 vehicles
and more than $390,000 between February 2000 and September 2003,
according to forfeiture ledgers.

Authorities say taking someone's vehicle deprives a person -- at least
temporarily -- from using it to commit another drug-related or vice
crime.

But police suspended the policy in late 2003 while the Florida Supreme
Court reviewed a misdemeanor case in Hollywood, where officials took a
man's car after he tried to pick up a prostitute.

This past summer, the Florida Supreme Court reversed the appellate
decision that had temporarily halted the seizures. Noting its
concerns, though, the state's highest court asked the lower court to
continue reviewing the police practice.

The fees are structured around city ordinances in Sarasota and
Bradenton. There is no such ordinance in Sarasota and Manatee
counties, nor in cities such as Venice and North Port.

"It's a civil seizure," said Whitney Coin, a Sarasota assistant city
attorney. "They don't forfeit the car, we don't permanently hold it."

People can fight the seizure, although hearings are rare and reversals
nearly nonexistent.

In Sarasota, there has been only one hearing since the ordinance was
re-established. That challenge failed, as did one of three in
Bradenton. The other two were later dropped.

Defense attorney Mark Lipinski of Bradenton said one of the major
problems with the law is that a person who contests the fine appears
before a city-hired "special master," and not a judge.

Since late September, when Bradenton resumed the fee, the policy has
generated more than $20,000. The city has collected about half that
amount, as some vehicle owners have not paid the $500 penalty.

In most cases, the cars were taken as part of prostitution or drug
stings. But there are exceptions, including instances where the
vehicle's owner apparently had nothing to do with a drug deal.

Bradenton police seized a 2005 Dodge Neon on Sept. 22 outside a
reputed crack house in the 400 block of 10th Avenue East. The car's
owner, Amber Green, was not driving it -- she let a friend borrow it
- -- but police say the 26-year-old woman should have known her friend
was using it to buy drugs.

Police said the driver dropped $10 worth of marijuana on the ground
outside the house. The man got arrested for misdemeanor possession.

Green, upset about losing her car, met police to fight the seizure.
She refused to sign seizure papers.

"They interrogated me when I didn't do anything wrong," said Green,
who can't get her car because she doesn't have the money. The bank has
put a hold on her Neon, and Green must rely on friends and family for
rides.

Police have little sympathy.

"Maybe they need to rethink who they're loaning their car to,"
Bradenton Police Maj. William Tokajer said. "What I suggest they do is
hit up their friend to pay the $500."

In a case this month, Bradenton police say they found a pipe with
marijuana residue in a vehicle at Manatee High School during a school
safety drill. The student's Toyota truck was seized, the $500 fine was
paid and the vehicle was released.

Impound fees mount the longer a vehicle sits at a tow company yard. If
a person pays $500 at the scene, the vehicle is not towed.

For towing companies, the business of picking up seizures isn't as
lucrative as it sounds. Most of their business is for roadside
assistance, with at least half of the calls each day to change a flat
or jump-start a battery.

State laws say towing companies have to keep newer model cars
(2004-2006) for 50 days. Anything older than that can be disposed of
after 37 days.

In most cases, however, the seized vehicles are paid for within a few
days, and the company might make $100 if the car is scrapped.

Sweet, who was arrested Oct. 12, got her car back within hours of
getting out of jail on $240 bail.

Sweet said her boyfriend and mother helped pay Bradenton's $500 fee.
She ended up paying an additional $200 or so to the towing company.

Sweet said she is more annoyed than mad.

"It sounds like they will do anything to get money," she
said.

A LOOK AT HOW CAR SEIZURES WORK

The Bradenton Police Department's right to impound vehicles is rooted
in City Ordinance 2583.

Police must have some evidence that a vehicle was used to buy or sell
illegal drugs or has drugs in it, or was used to solicit a prostitute.

When an officer decides to take a vehicle, a person has three options.
He or she can: