WAR ON THE CONSTITUTION

Suspects Should Be Found Guilty Before Assets Seized

Sylvester Stallone Anderson III may well turn out to be the menace to
society that Cumberland County authorities allege.

The 20-year-old Carlisle resident has a long list of drug-related
state and federal charges pending against him that could put him
behind bars for a long time. But his guilt should have been
determined before authorities seized more than $22,000 from his bank account.

The Cumberland County district attorney's office and Judge Edward E.
Guido were perfectly within the law in going after Anderson's money,
and therein lies the problem.

Pennsylvania law allows for a civil procedure separate from the
criminal case in which prosecutors can go after assets before guilt is decided.

And, unlike the "guilty beyond a reasonable debt" threshold needed
for a criminal conviction, assets can be ordered forfeited by a judge
if prosecutors show a "preponderance" of evidence that they were used
or acquired from dealing drugs.

Any money or material items seized, such as cars, houses or jewelry,
are then used toward equipment, personnel and other crime-fighting resources.

The concept may be a great idea, but taking assets before a
conviction or guilty plea just doesn't mesh with the constitutional
presumption of innocence until proven guilty. Even if Anderson is
eventually found not to be guilty, prosecutors don't have to return the money.

But since trampling on the constitutional rights of alleged drug
dealers doesn't exactly rile the populace, which shares the
frustration of authorities in failing to make much of a dent in the
drug trade, these questionable state and federal forfeiture laws
largely go unchallenged.

We understand the concern of Cumberland County authorities that
Anderson could use what they firmly believe are ill-gotten gains to
finance his defense. However, a much better option would be to freeze
Anderson's assets until his case is adjudicated. If he's ultimately
found guilty, he loses the assets. If he's found innocent, he gets them back.

That is the manner in which we would like to see Pennsylvania's
forfeiture law amended.

Bringing drug dealers to justice is a tough and dangerous job and we
respect the passion and dedication of authorities in trying to bring
them to justice. But in too many cases the War on Drugs has turned
into, as a local defense attorney once put it, a War on the Constitution.