CAR-SEIZURE POLICY IN DRUNKEN-DRIVING CASES CHALLENGED

The New York Civil Liberties Union sued the city Wednesday over a new policy
to seize the cars of people accused of drunken driving.

Norman Siegel, the organization's executive director, called the policy
"unfair, excessive and un-American." The group seeks to make it a
class-action lawsuit.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of 72 people who lost their cars because of
the policy that went into effect Feb. 22.

Under Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's police, drivers with a blood alcohol level
exceeding the state's legal limit of .10 will lose their cars as the
"instrumentalities of a crime," and the vehicles might not be returned.

The lawsuit says the policy is unconstitutional because it denies a suspect
due process and illegally usurps a function of the Legislature - prescribing
punishment for drunken driving.