From: gordon@sneaky.lonestar.org (Gordon Burditt)
Newsgroups: misc.legal
Subject: forfeiture question
Date: 9 Oct 92 22:44:15 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Gordon Burditt

You are at a government auction for seized cars and assorted other items.
You are carrying suspiciously large quantities of financial substances,
enough to buy several cars at this auction.  (Checks and credit cards
are not accepted.)  You make your living either buying old cars and restoring 
and re-selling them, or restoring cars under contract with the owner.  (If 
anyone challenges this, you have 6 years of business records, business income 
tax returns, sales tax payment records, business licenses, copies of 
advertising, and can get statements from suppliers and customers that you're 
really in business.  After a somewhat rocky start, you make a comfortable
but not luxurious living at this business.)  The auction officials know you 
as a regular buyer.

You carefully examine the cars and decide to bid on several of them.
Some of the other auction attendees are also going over the cars very
carefully.  You bid on several cars, but drop out because the price
gets too high.  The last car you particularly want because it has several
parts in particularly good condition that one of your clients wants
for his car.  You bid a bit higher than you normally would.  You hear
a scuffle in the back of the crowd.  The people bidding against you
drop out, and you get the car.  You pay for it and call your usual
tow service to have it towed back to your business.  

Before the tow truck arrives, you are arrested for possession of cocaine.
You are taken to jail and your money is confiscated.  It seems that the
car you bought had a cache of cocaine in the tires that the police
didn't find, in addition to the caches in the back seat, gas tank, trunk, 
and dust all over that they did find.  That scuffle you heard was one of 
the dealer's associates trying to get the cocaine back by buying the car 
being arrested on an old warrant.  The police think you knew about the 
cocaine, and that was why you were willing to pay so much for the car.  
They know you were examining the car very carefully.  They don't believe
it was because of the factory-original hubcaps.

You say nothing and call your lawyer.  Meanwhile, the police add a charge
of destruction of property (police officer's pants) because you refused 
to answer "do you need to use a restroom?" and couldn't hold out long enough.  

Questions:  at this point, the DA could compel your testimony against
others (he's interested who was examining the car, especially the other
guy who was arrested.  Your lawyer thinks he's interested in proving YOU
were closely examining the car and found the cocaine).  If you take the 
5th, he could offer you immunity from prosecution and compel your testimony 
anyway.  Now, does this immunity from prosecution cover not seizing your 
remaining bankroll, and not seizing the car (after the cocaine is removed, 
and the car is used as evidence in court)?  If the DA explicitly offers 
not to seize your bankroll, is there any way you can believe him without a 
double-cross like the Feds seizing it instead?  Can the DA compel your
testimony against your money?  (This may be moot, since the burden of
proof is on you in this situation.)

The destruction of property charge is dropped when you offer to pay for
cleaning the officer's pants.  You go to trial for the cocaine possession 
charge.  Your lawyer moves for a dismissal due to lack of evidence.
The judge grants a dismissal.  (What are the chances of this really happening?)

You go to a hearing to get your bankroll back.  You get lucky and one
of the officials at the hearing is an antique car collector who knows
of your business and reputation.  They order the police to give your 
bankroll back.  Is it now necessary to get someone (state police?) to 
conduct a seizure raid (breaking in doors, tear gas, etc.) against every 
police building in the county (you're not sure where they are keeping
the money, and the police representative won't say) before allowing the 
police representative to leave the hearing, to prevent the police from 
turning the money over to the Feds?

What chance do you have of getting the car you bought back (less the
cocaine, and after the car has been used as evidence in another trial)?

					Gordon L. Burditt
					sneaky.lonestar.org!gordon