FREDERICKSBURG, Va.—Blasting as “fundamentally un-American” the seizure of assets from citizens, a state lawmaker wants to rein in police powers in Virginia.
Virginia law currently allows police to seize property without even a hearing.
State Delegate Mark Cole, a Republican from Spotsylvania, has introduced legislation to be taken up in the General Assembly next January that would require a criminal conviction before property could be taken. Virginia law currently allows police to seize property without even a hearing.
Cole says he knows police and prosecutors “see the current seizure laws as an effective way to take the profit out of crime.” He also realizes some criminals put property purchased with ill-gotten gains in the names of others not involved in the crimes to avoid seizure. Officials worry his legislation would put those assets out of reach.
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Indeed, Cole knows of no law-enforcement groups who will back his bill, and some prosecutors have contacted him to say it would make their jobs more difficult.
“While I certainly do not want to make the job of our law enforcement officials harder, I believe we need to strengthen our property protections to avoid potential abuse or the taking of property from an innocent person,” he said.
Mandrel Stuart will support the measure. According to John Whitehead, president of the Rutherford Institute, Stuart, the 35-year-old owner of a small barbecue restaurant in Staunton, Va., was stunned when police took $17,550 from him during a stop in 2012 for a minor traffic infraction on Interstate 66 in Fairfax County.
Stuart rejected a settlement with the government for half of his money and demanded a jury trial. He eventually got his money back but lost his business because he didn’t have the cash to pay his overhead.
Whitehead said, “Forfeiture is seen increasingly by police as a means for funding police departments in light of state and federal laws allowing police departments to keep most or all of the proceeds.
