from: http://www.kcstar.com/projects/drugforfeit/index.html Click Here: <A HREF="http://www.kcstar.com/projects/drugforfeit/index.html">Ka nsas City Star - Special project: Drug forfei…</A> ----- There is more at site. Om K ----- This series of articles from The Kansas City Star's projects desk is the second examination Star reporter Karen Dillon has made of police circumventing state forfeiture laws -- this time with a national scope. Her fi rst series on the subject focused on Missouri and was published in January 1999. PART ONE: Photo illustration by Kevin Anderson/The StarAcross U.S., police dodge state seizure laws Police and highway patrols across the country are evading state laws to improperly keep millions of dollars in cash and property seized in drug busts and traffic stops. Diverted dollars mean losses for education At least eight states have constitutional provisions that require money and property forfeited under state law to go to education. But little or no drug money appears to get there. Many states protect property owners from home forfeitures Laws in many states such as Kansas make it very difficult to confiscate a person's home. But law enforcement has found a way around those state laws, with the help of the federal government. Rampant confiscations remain despite some states' quirky laws Here's a quick spin through some of the stranger state laws and the ways police have found to get around them. Hand-off halts couple's claim to cash On Dec. 4, 1999, a Texas couple found $300,000 in a bag along the road. They gave it to Dallas police and were told it would belong to them if no one claimed the money within 60 days. Then law enforcement decided not to give the money back. Court rulings have little impact in two states In two states, courts have ruled that money can't be forfeited -- at all -- when the owner is convicted of a crime. State supreme courts in New Mexico and Nebraska say it's double jeopardy to both convict a person and take his property. Justice DepartmentPART TWO: Police, federal agencies resist change For more than 15 years police and federal agencies have perfected the partnership that allows police to improperly keep millions of dollars seized in drug busts and traffic stops. Don't expect change to come easy or soon, a yearlong examination by The Kansas City Star shows. Forfeiture package offers minimal reform, some say Congress passed a forfeiture reform bill last month with great fanfare, promising it would finally protect civil liberties and property rights. A closer look shows the law might not even be that significant. States' forfeiture woes trace to federal officials The U.S. Department of Justice is far more than a silent partner in the mass evasion of state laws by local police and state patrols. In fact, the Justice Department is the main culprit, The Kansas City Star has found. All content © 2000 The Kansas City Star ----- Aloha, He'Ping, Om, Shalom, Salaam. Em Hotep, Peace Be, All My Relations. Omnia Bona Bonis, Adieu, Adios, Aloha. Amen. Roads End <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html <A HREF="http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
