SUPREME COURT SAYS STATE CAN TAKE CAR OF MAN WHO PLEADED TO MARIJUANA CHARGE

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Nothing in the state constitution prevents the state
from taking the car of a man sentenced to prison on a marijuana charge, the
state Supreme Court ruled today.

Richard Falardeau was arrested in 1995 after police found about a pound of
marijuana and less than a gram of hashish in his 1994 Chevrolet Caprice.

Falardeau pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana with intent to sell and
was sentenced to two to four years in state prison. His sentence was
deferred on condition he complete the ``shock'' prison boot camp program.

State prosecutors later filed a petition to seize Falardeau's car, saying
he should forfeit the Caprice because it was used to conceal and transport
illegal drugs.

Falardeau argued that taking his car would be a second punishment for the
same crime. Being punished twice is forbidden under the ``double jeopardy''
clauses of the state and federal constitutions.

Superior Court Judge Douglas Gray ruled in Falardeau's favor.

However, the state's highest court overturned that ruling today, saying the
state's forfeiture law was mostly a civil penalty, not a criminal
punishment, and therefore couldn't be counted as double jeopardy for a crime.

``While forfeiture may contain some punitive aspects ... the statute serves
important nonpunitive goals by `encouraging property owners to take care in
managing their property and ensuring that they will not permit that
property to be used for illegal purposes,''' the unanimous decision said.

The forfeiture petition was sent back to the lower court for a final ruling.