Florida Law Enforcement Increases Practice of Seizing Vehicles Used for Speeding, Eluding Police
Florida law enforcement agencies have stepped up the little-known practice of confiscating vehicles used to commit traffic crimes, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reported June 30. According to the article, law enforcement in Florida has always had the power to seize vehicles used to commit crimes or to flee from officers. But that law was little used until recently, with only 11 vehicles forfeited in Florida in all of 2007. This year, the newspaper said, the total was 22 vehicles before the end of June. Defendants do not need to be convicted to have their property seized, a policy that raises concerns about abuses by police eager to generate revenue.
The article shares the experience of Kevin Eugene Jones, a motorcyclist caught riding at 141 mph on Interstate 4. He fled rather than pull over for police, but was eventually caught and charged with fleeing and eluding law enforcement, a charge that allows law enforcement to deem his custom motorcycle forfeited. Jones has not had a trial on the fleeing and eluding charge, but he had already lost his civil forfeiture case when he was offered a chance to buy back his bike at 70% of market value. He told the newspaper that he believed this was extortion, and others interviewed by the paper agreed, saying the forfeiture laws allow police agencies to make extra money by violating drivers’ rights.
As Sarasota traffic offense lawyers, we understand those concerns. Abuse of asset forfeiture laws is not just a theoretical concern -- as the article notes, the Volusia County sheriff’s office was investigated more than a decade ago for seizing property in legally weak cases. On the federal level, asset forfeiture laws are used in large-scale and serious criminal cases like drug trafficking, child pornography or racketeering. (This practice also has its critics.) Fleeing when the police try to pull you over is illegal, but the harm to society is substantially less than with these other crimes, which is why the penalty is also less.
Balliro, Galasso, Leskovich & Seltzer aggressively defends clients caught up in this practice, including civil forfeiture cases against their property as well as the underlying criminal case. Our West Palm Beach traffic ticket lawyers can handle traffic-court offenses, such as toll payment tickets and license suspensions, as well as criminal traffic offenses like drunk driving and driving on a suspended license. In many cases, our clients are law-abiding drivers who didn’t realize they were in trouble with the law, or who simply accumulated too many points on a driver’s license. Our Miami-Dade traffic offense attorneys can help keep these drivers out of further legal trouble by negotiating a one-time payment to settle their legal problems and restore their clean driving records.
If you or someone you love is facing severe consequences for a traffic infraction in Florida, BGL&S can help. To learn more at a free, confidential consultation, you can contact us online or call us toll-free at 1-866-ARRESTED, any time of the day or week.
