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Newsbrief:
Prosecutors
Seize
Bail
Money,
Claim
Pot
Smell
--
A
New
Tactic?
1/3/03
In two widely separated cases
in December, local police and prosecutors attempted to seize bail money
on the grounds that it smelled like marijuana and was thus presumed to
be proceeds of illegal drug trafficking. The proceedings, in Massachusetts
and South Dakota, may mark the emergence of a new tactic in the never-ending,
ever-escalating attack on marijuana and those who use, buy, and sell the
weed.
Last Sunday, police in Northampton,
MA, confiscated $50,000 in cash from a Vermont couple who had come to bail
their daughter out of jail after she was arrested on marijuana distribution
charges. A police officer at the jail smelled the money and detected
"a slight odor of marijuana," according to affidavit filed in support of
the forfeiture. A drug sniffing dog then confirmed the odor, the
affidavit said. Police then seized the money as the proceeds of drug
dealing. Hampshire County prosecutors are seeking to confiscate the
money. A hearing is set for January 16.
A week earlier and 2,000
miles away, police and prosecutors in Huron, SD, pulled the same stunt.
According to court documents in State of South Dakota vs. $5,000 made available
to DRCNet, police sought to seize $5,000 in cash bail on the grounds that
it smelled of marijuana. Beadle County prosecutors revoked the bail
of the young man in question and rearrested him. But Circuit Court
Judge Jon Erickson, raising a judicial eyebrow at prosecutors' claims,
ordered the defendant re-released. The prosecutors' motion to seize
the $5,000 remains pending, but the person who put up the cash told DRCNet
he is seeking legal counsel to fight the forfeiture.
In 1994, the 9th US Circuit
Court of Appeals ruled that ruled that police officers could not seize
suspected drugs money or raid premises just because a sniffer dog had indicated
it was contaminated. They would need better evidence than that.
All of which begs the question: How many pot dealers are throwing
their hundred dollar bills in with the buds?
-- END --
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Issue #270, 1/3/03
Editorial: Constitutional Inconveniences | Pressure for Change Mounts as Ontario Judge Rules Canadian Marijuana Possession Law Invalid 270/californiabudget Budget Crisis Forces California Governor to Consider Early Releases, Other Prison Measures | Prosecutors Enlist in Drug Czar's Anti-Marijuana Campaign -- Will Prioritize Marijuana Cases, Lobby Against Reform | Latin American Anti-Prohibition Conference, Feb. 12-15, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico | Cumbre Internacional Sobre Legalización, 15-Dec Febrero, Mérida, México | Newsbrief: Connecticut Legislator to Reintroduce Medical Marijuana Bill | Newsbrief: Prosecutors Seize Bail Money, Claim Pot Smell -- A New Tactic? | Newsbrief: Louisiana Drug Raid Draws Protests | Newsbrief: France Looking to Heighten Marijuana Penalties | Newsbrief: NJ Weedman to Get Day in Federal Court After Months in Jail for Thought Crime | Newsbrief: This Week's Corrupt Cop Story | Newsbrief: Afghan Opium Farmers Drive Out Eradicators | Newsbrief: Ethiopian Farmers Turn to Khat in Face of Drought, Low Coffee Prices | DC Job Opportunities at DRCNet | The Reformer's Calendar
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