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Newsbrief:
Federal
Judge
Deems
Utah
Asset
Forfeiture
Initiative
Constitutional
8/9/02
A federal district court
judge has knocked down a legal challenge to Utah's Property Protection
Act, the asset forfeiture reform measure passed by a 69%-31% margin in
the 2000 elections. In an August 2 ruling, District Judge Dee V.
Benson ruled that the act does not violate the supremacy clause of the
US Constitution and that the state may continue to direct all asset forfeiture
proceeds to public education instead of law enforcement.
Disgruntled police officers
had filed a lawsuit in March 2001 asking Benson to void the law on the
grounds that it conflicted with federal asset forfeiture law. Under
federal law, local and federal law enforcement agencies share the booty
they seize. But Benson ruled that the state law did not conflict
with federal law.
In a press release cheering
the decision, Andrew Stavros, coauthor of the initiative, said: "Finally,
the police will no longer be dependent on forfeitures to finance their
operations. With the Utah Property Protection Act intact, forfeiture
proceeds will now go to public education, as was the case before 1988.
My biggest concern is that the law enforcement lobby will strong-arm the
legislature into overruling the will of the people."
-- END --
|
Issue #249, 8/9/02
Nevada Marijuana Initiative Endorsed by State's Largest Police Group | DC Board of Elections Rejects Medical Marijuana Petitions -- Admits One of Seven Valid Signatures Ignored but Refuses to Correct Error | Democratic Governor Candidate Calls for Repeal of NY Rockefeller Laws | Switzerland Defends Cannabis Decrim, Tells UN Narcocrats to Buzz Off | Which War Am I In? DEA Meth Offensive Continues as US Pilots in Afghanistan Gobble Speed | Libertarian Party Launches TV Ad Campaign Targeting Rep. Bob Barr on Medical Marijuana
| Drug Czar Picks Beer-Promoting NASCAR Hot Rodder to Carry Anti-Drug Message | School Anti-Drug Programs Get Failing Grade, Study Says | Drug Dog Terrorizes Native American Kindergartners in South Dakota, Lawsuit Filed | Newsbrief: South Dakota Lakota Successfully Harvest Hemp Crop | Newsbrief: Peru Backs Off on Coca Eradication, Again | Newsbrief: Radical Party Moscow Activists Go to Trial for Marijuana Legalization Rally -- Free Speech at Heart of Case | Newsbrief: Federal Judge Deems Utah Asset Forfeiture Initiative Constitutional | Newsbrief: Canadian NAFTA Suit Over Hemp Restrictions Enters Arbitration | Newsbrief: More than One Million in Drug Treatment in US, SAMHSA Says | Newsbrief: Budget Woes Close Detox, Treatment Facilities in NC, Iowa | Newsbrief: Stiffer Ecstasy Penalties Would Hit Penn State University | Newsbrief: Study Finds THC-like Chemicals Useful for Certain Disorders | Newsbrief: Archeological Evidence of Bronze Age Drug Trade | Web Scan: Narco News, Nature, Cato | Legislative Alerts: Rave Bill, Medical Marijuana, Higher Education Act Drug Provision | The Reformer's Calendar
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