LAW LEADS TO BETTER REPORTING OF ASSETS SEIZED

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- More stringent reporting requirements on how
local law enforcement agencies handle cases involving the seizure of
cash or property appear to be having the desired effect, with 90
percent of county prosecutors complying with the new law.

Reporting of seizures made during 2001 marked a dramatic improvement
in compliance over that for 2000 under the more lax requirements in
place at the time. Only 26 percent of prosecutors filed timely
reports last year with the Department of Public Safety for 2000
seizures.

The law now requires prosecutors in all 115 Missouri counties plus
St. Louis city and the attorney general's office to annually report
seizure cases in their jurisdictions to the state auditor, as well as
DPS. Prosecutors who intentionally fail to do so could be charged
with a class A misdemeanor and fined up to $1,000. Previously, there
was no penalty for not reporting.

For 2001, prosecutors reported a total of 2,248 cases involving the
seizure of more than $3.5 million in assets.

Including reports the auditor received after the Jan. 31 statutory
deadline, all but 11 county prosecuting attorneys -- four from
Southeast Missouri -- met the new requirements.

'We Had Nothing To Report'

Prosecutors in two of those area counties said it was a simple oversight.

"The reason we didn't file a report was because we had nothing to
report," said Dunklin County Prosecuting Attorney Stephen P.
Sokoloff. "But I'll get with them to make sure we're clear."

Reynolds County Prosecuting Attorney Robert A. Johnson also said he
overlooked filing his report because his office handled no seizure
cases last year. Johnson said he would immediately rectify the
situation.

Prosecutors in Perry and Wayne counties, who also didn't submit
reports, were out of their offices Tuesday and couldn't be reached
for comment.

The reports are required under revisions to the Criminal Activity
Forfeiture Act Gov. Bob Holden signed into law in May. The changes
were intended to stem perceived abuses by police in property seizure
cases.

Will be reminded

Glenn Campbell, McCaskill's spokesman, said prosecutors who didn't
submit their reports would be called this week and reminded of the
law. Campbell said most of those, like Sokoloff and Johnson, likely
thought they didn't have to report if they had no seizures.

Though it isn't expected to happen, Campbell said McCaskill would ask
the attorney general's office to pursue charges against a prosecutor
who flat out refused to comply.

"It's not as if we're walking out the door today with a bunch of
warrants for prosecuting attorneys around the state, but we have
certain obligations," Campbell said.

However, Scott Holste, a spokesman for Attorney General Jay Nixon,
said it doesn't appear Nixon's office has jurisdiction over such
cases, if any were to be pursued. Holste said a judge likely would
have to appoint a special prosecutor.

State Sen. Harry Wiggins, D-Kansas City and sponsor of the CAFA law,
said it is clear the attorney general would pursue such charges.
However, he said the jurisdiction question would probably be moot.

"I can't imagine us prosecuting prosecutors," Wiggins said. "I think
notification of the law should be enough" to encourage compliance.

Closed a Loophole

Though detailed reporting is key to ensuring state oversight over
seizure procedures, the main drive behind passing the law was to
close a legal loophole some law enforcement agencies used to
circumvent the Missouri Constitution and pad their budgets.

The Constitution requires assets seized in relation to a crime to be
turned over to a state education fund. However, some local agencies
would claim they merely "detained" assets until federal agents,
usually with the Drug Enforcement Administration, came to "seize"
them.

After taking a cut of the proceeds, the federal agency would return
the rest to the local agency. Critics of the practice likened it to
money laundering.

The new law clarified that the seizing agency is that which first
exercises control over cash or property. Approval from a state judge
is required to turn assets over to a federal agency.

According the report, 14 percent of the $3.5 million in assets seized
last year was transferred to federal agencies. Only 6 percent went to
the state. About 41 percent of the total was pending disposition and
31 percent was returned to the owners. The remaining 8 percent wasn't
immediately accounted for.

Because the new law didn't take effect until Aug. 28, transfers to
federal agencies with judicial approval before that time were still
legal.

Unspecified law enforcement agencies in Cape Girardeau and Butler
counties were the only ones in Southeast Missouri to involve federal
agencies in seizures last year, according to the report.