-Caveat Lector- ------- Forwarded message follows ------- ONTARIO LAW WOULD EXPAND SEIZURE OF CARS DURING ARRESTS Proponents Of Ordinance Targeting Customers Of Dealers, Prostitutes Say Threat Of Losing A Vehicle Could Be A Strong Deterrent. ONTARIO -- Buy drugs or solicit a prostitute and you could lose your car. That is the gist of a proposed law to be debated tonight by the City Council. The proposed ordinance, which would give police the authority to seize cars during prostitution and drug-related arrests, is intended to provide a deterrent to the crimes, said Richard Maxwell, chief deputy district attorney for San Bernardino County. "I certainly think it would help," Maxwell said. "In California your car is your life. When a person loses their car, that is a much more severe penalty than the law provides for it." Ontario has seized the vehicles of drug dealers in the past under state forfeiture laws. The new law would target customers, said Sgt. John Evans, who heads the city's community policing program. Evans said the seizures can affect prostitution as well. "It is a huge expense for them," Evans said. "How do you explain your car being taken? The effects are pretty drastic." Those arrested for soliciting prostitutes face a maximum six-month county jail sentence and a fine if convicted. The ordinance is modeled after an Oakland law that has withstood a challenge in the state courts, Ontario Police Sgt. Steve Duke said. However, last year Congress passed a measure intended to scale back what many considered to abuses of the federal forfeiture laws in drug cases. Previously, assets could be taken even in cases where no arrests were made or convictions obtained, and it fell to the owners to prove that the property had been legally obtained. The Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act of 2000 shifted the burden of proof back to the government to show that the assets were obtained through drug sales. The city's ordinance includes safeguards to protect innocent people. Evans said legal seizures should reduce prostitution and drug sales as they have in other cities. People might think prostitution is a victimless crime but it attracts drugs and other crimes to an area, Evans said. Mission and Holt boulevards are the corridors where most prostitutes are solicited because of the motels there, Evans said. The city conducts two stings a year and arrests about 25 men during each for soliciting prostitutes. "I think this will really help clean up an area," Evans said. Tonight's meeting starts at 6:30 at City Hall, 303 East B St. ****************************************************** FEAR also offers an unmoderated discussion list and digests for all lists List unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe ****************************************************** ------- End of forwarded message ------- -- Best Wishes It is not enough to say that we are not now getting our money's worth for our taxes; we are paying the government for tyrannizing. The hostages are forced to subsidize their captors. How does a hostage get his money's worth? ... Do our rulers ever conscientiously ask whether they already have too much power? Do they ever hesitate to claim more? Do they ever try to define the proper limits of power in principle? Do they ever worry that they may be exercising tyranny over us? Are they at all troubled by the disparity between the limited range of state power in earlier times and its limitless range today? Do they even recognize the possibility of an illegitimate state power? -Joseph Sobran <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, mis- directions 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, CTRLgives 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://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.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
