PROTECT PROPERTY

Utahns will not only get a chance to vote for president and choose the
state's next governor in November, they also will have an opportunity
to effect needed reform to the state's complex property seizure laws
by approving the Utah Property Protection Act ballot initiative.

Unlike another initiative that will be on the Nov. 7 election ballot
that specifies English as Utah's official language, the property
seizure initiative is not divisive. All Utahns win if voters approve
it; no one loses. It does not abolish asset forfeiture, but the
initiative cleans up existing law and makes potential abuse of the law
less attractive to law enforcement groups and prosecutors.

Asset forfeiture has become popular, largely through the failed war on
drugs, and has led to abuses. This is not surprising. As part of the
drug war, agencies seizing property have been allowed to keep part of
the proceeds for themselves, an inducement of corruption if ever there
was one. Convoluted arguments that these seizures are civil, not
criminal, and therefore legitimate even when people are not charged
with crimes, let alone convicted, are enthroned.

The Property Protection Act will correct much of this propensity for
abuse. It will forbid the seizure of property belonging to innocent
owners, it will ensure that seizures and forfeitures of property are
not disproportionate to the violation or crime committed, and it will
put the burden of proof on prosecutors to justify their action.

Moreover, the initiative provides that the proceeds from all property
seized and sold go into the state's uniform school fund. No portion of
the proceeds would go to the governmental agencies seizing the
property, which would close a loophole that has winked at corruption
if not actively encouraged it.

Taken as a whole, the initiative is a reasonable attempt to rein in an
increasingly popular, but odious practice that tends to make a mockery
of the sanctity of private property enshrined in the U.S. Constitution
and the minds of its framers. It does not eliminate asset forfeiture
and property seizure as law enforcement tools, but reduces the
potential for abuse when they are used. All Utahns who value what they
have earned and own should support the initiative and vote for it Nov. 7.