Delaware Is A Police State. Will Anybody Do Anything?
I hope you have all read this article in Sunday’s News Journal. If not, read it and then head back here. I’ll wait.
I didn’t know, betcha that you didn’t either, that police can seize property, money and valuables when they suspect that the owners of said property, money and valuables are involved in drug-related crime. Betcha didn’t know that neither (a) the filing of charges and/or (b) convictions for said offenses were a prerequisite for police just taking stuff. Betcha didn’t know that it’s exceedingly difficult, if not down-right impossible, for innocent victims of said seizures to get their money, property and valuables back. Betcha didn’t know that the ‘proceeds’ go directly to a law enforcement slush fund called SLEAF. Betcha didn’t know that Delaware is the only state in the union that refuses to release the amount of money seized and how the money is spent:
Delaware was the only state unwilling to release how much money it seizes and how it is spent for the Institute for Justice’s “Policing for Profit” report.
Freedom of Information Act requests submitted by The News Journal were denied by several police agencies. That is because SLEAF, the agency that collects the funds and then distributes them to police agencies who apply for grants, is not considered a public entity and is not subject to FOIA.
The Department of Justice gave only overall numbers, showing SLEAF has collected $476,651 since July and has disbursed $475,847 to police departments.
Last fiscal year, SLEAF collected $1.01 million and disbursed $867,000.
Yep, once again the state has created a phony non-public entity to avoid providing what should be public information to the public.
Oh, by the way, this shredding of the Constitutions, both Federal and State, is justified by the so-called war on drugs. Call anything a ‘War On’ something, and I guess the Constitution no longer applies.
The operative term is ‘civil forfeiture’. Here’s how it’s used in Delaware:
Civil forfeiture is the controversial legal maneuver in which police can seize assets – such as vehicles, electronics and cash – if officers believe the items were used or intended for use in a criminal act. That can include all property (including houses) seized in close proximity to illegal drugs. The usual criminal justice principle –innocent until proven guilty – does not apply in these civil cases.
The seized money goes into one pot known as the Special Law Enforcement Assistance Fund, or SLEAF. A committee of eight prosecutors and law enforcement representatives holds the purse strings, making million-dollar decisions in private about how to distribute the money.
You see, because it’s ‘civil’ and not ‘criminal’, an officer’s suspicion can override any and all other legal considerations. Even after the fact, when no charges have been filed. You can find some horror stories in the News-Journal article.
Oh, and didja see how SLEAF, which disburses the filthy lucre and which is ‘not considered a public entity’, is comprised of eight prosecutors and law enforcement officials, all of whom are public servants? Pretty sneaky if not illegal.
This must change. Police should not be allowed to justify any kind of extra-constitutional behavior in the name of the ‘War on’ Drugs, Terrorism, or Long-Haired Hippies. Or, of course, Black People.
We don’t coddle criminals or even the accused in this state. We coddle the cops. We have given them extra-constitutional powers that they violate over and over again.
I call on the Attorney General, the Governor, and the General Assembly to right this wrong as soon as possible. Or just cede what’s left of our democratic form of government over to the cops.
Tags: Featured
Matt Denn needs to be all over this but it probably won’t fit with his new tough guy persona. He could also reign in some of his power tripping AAGs who set out to ruin people just because they think they can.
Well done story by TNJ courts reporter Jessica Masulli Reyes.
Sure, somebody can do something. First NJ should file an appeal to the FOIA denial. Then they should, after the appeal is denied, file a suit against SLEAF. The suit should also name the Executive Branch as well. The crux of the suit is the denial that SLEAF is exempt from FOIA. The suit should be filed in federal court since it is a federal law.
Second, the ACLU should file a class action suit against the state for violation of citizens civil rights.
There ya go. A starting point.
Totally agree re the local chapter of the ACLU.
Also thought it was a good story, except I would have liked for the reporter to talk to someone from the ACLU.
BTW, I’ve searched in vain for the enabling legislation. Went back to the 2011-12 General Assembly since the cops started doing this in 2012. Anyone who finds the bill before me gets a free drink at the next Drinking Liberally.
Never travel with cash and never keep it in your house, the police will steal it if they can and you’ll never get it back. Civil Forfeiture was originally supposed to be used only against “drug lords”, the police quickly turned it into a cash cow. Expect no response from the politicians as they are the root of the problem, that Delaware is amongst the worst comes as no surprise either. Delaware is a horrible police state, even worse is that the State Police are politically active and the politicians fear them. Well done ‘Bulo, my sentiments exactly.
In my so-far vain search for the enabling legislation (4 General Assemblies and counting), I’ve discovered something else.
Time after time, I find bills adding additional fines for certain offenses, with all of the additional fine money going for law enforcement. I guess they’re not funded well enough in the Budget, they’ve got to have all these other revenue streams exclusively devoted to them.
This is what happens when you elect douchebag ex-troopers to legislative office.
Common ground, at last.
this state would be nothing without I95
One thing missing from the News Journal story was some type of analysis of the seizures. They have the info since the law enforcement agencies are required to post notices in the classified ads.
Anecdotally from reading through past notices I was struck by how little money was seized per individual and how crappy the cars were that were being seized. These can’t be very wealthy folks.
I’m 100% sure the seizures are from people the least equipped to deal with the economic hit, and very little ability to push back.
The “war on drugs” is a war on poor people.
The proof of Jason’s statement shouldn’t be long in coming. Let’s see what happens to the 19-year-old woman in Texas who was arrested with pot, over an ounce of cocaine, methamphetamine, and dozens of pills of various types. What makes it a good test case is the fact that her father is a honcho in the DEA in Texas.
http://www.rawstory.com/2015/11/worlds-most-adorable-drug-kingpin-is-actually-the-daughter-of-texas-dea-head-honcho/
“”It is a tool that law enforcement uses to take drugs off the streets,” Brackin said. “We know that drug proceeds are transported all up and down I-95 on the East Coast.”” (News Journal liked above…)
Since our state is number one in forfeitures, I suppose by now we have drug free streets?
I wonder how much of the money has gone to the election campaigns of their former colleagues. Unlimited money. No wonder these bullies keep getting into office where they continue to bully. I’ve known eight LEO’s socially and based on their behaviors and the stories they told after a couple of beers, I’m quite happy that I won’t ever have to associate with any of them ever again! Oh, I forgot about the one who lived across the street and was a child molester! That makes nine.
Wonkblog wrote about this a few weeks back on a national basis. Policing for profit is something of an epidemic and doesn’t seem to be much of a deterrent to anything.
Thanks, Cassandra. That article is must reading. We’ll talk about this on tomorrow’s Al Show.
Civil asset forfeiture is not the only thing wrong with policing in Delaware. Far too much information related to law enforcement is kept secret. There is so much improvement to be made that it would be difficult to list every suggestion here.
A 2008 report from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press noted that Delaware’s FOIA statutes regarding exemptions for police information are “poorly worded and contradictory.” Often, the police can block the release of information merely by claiming it is investigatory in nature. (http://www.rcfp.org/rcfp/orders/docs/POLICE.pdf) Mug shots, arrest records, and just about anything else could be covered by a vague exemption.
Any chance some of this could be remedied by our General Assembly? Ha! Have you counted the number of ex-cops in Dover lately?
Here ya go, El Som.
The SLEAF was revamped and made explicitly confidential in 2013: http://legis.delaware.gov/LIS/LIS147.nsf/vwlegislation/13CC8DC86805FE4485257B5D006DA1BA
Even Kowalko voted for it: http://legis.delaware.gov/LIS/LIS147.nsf/7712cf7cc0e9227a852568470077336f/71ef812dd57f959985257b96007439a3?OpenDocument
Some guy even wrote about it back then: http://delawareliberal.net//2013/06/12/general-assembly-post-game-wrap-uppre-game-show-weds-june-12-2013/
There are a wide variety of other issues regarding the slow (boiling frog) approach to Delaware becoming a police state over the past 7 years, many of which can be directly attributed to Schiliro’s tenure as Secretary atop law enforcement, and some of us have been writing about it for years:
http://delawarelibertarian.blogspot.com/2013/07/10-reasons-to-believe-delaware-is.html
Thanks, SW. Here is the synopsis, word for word.
“This Bill expands the purpose of the Special Law Enforcement Assistance Fund so that law-enforcement agencies can obtain and devote resources to enhance the suppression, investigation and prosecution of criminal activity, promote officer safety, facilitate the training of law enforcement personnel, further public education and community awareness and improve victim services. In addition, the Bill creates an advisory committee to advise the Attorney General in approving applications for funding and allocating resources. No funds may be disbursed in respect of applications approved by the Attorney General without the concurrence of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the Controller General. Finally, the Bill makes clear that the SLEAF Committee shall not be deemed a public body as defined in or otherwise subject to the open meeting provisions of Chapter 100 of Title 29 of the Delaware Code.”
Somewhere, Franz Kafka nods his head in recognition.
Sponsored by two ex-cops, Sen. Ennis and Rep. Mitchell. Only two legislators voted no…Senators McBride and Peterson. Oops, a correction. After the House passed the bill with an amendment, SB 72 went back to the Senate for a final vote. Sen. Simpson joined McBride and Peterson in voting no on final passage.
“Jemand mußte Josef K. verleumdet haben, denn ohne daß er etwas Böses getan hätte, wurde er eines Morgens verhaftet.”
From that link to the past…
Dissolute Recrimination…
Well played, lol.
I can’t tell you how many times I have represented people who have had money seized by the police without them being charged with anything. But I can tell you from experience that it’s even worse when charges are actually filed. That’s because most of the time the AG’s office makes forfeiture of the money seized a condition of their plea agreement – You want a misdemeanor plea on a felony charge, then you have to agree to the forfeiture. I have had prosecutors offer to drop charges completely if the person agrees to forfeit cars. It’s especially insidious if it’s a nice car that the person owns outright (they never try to forfeit cars that are financed because the police don’t want to have to pay the lien holder). I once had to file a motion with the court to preclude the State from making forfeiture a car a condition of allowing a young first offender into the Superior Court’s drug diversion program.
And this is a staunch democrat state. I’m glad the government always has the best in mind for its citizens.
Is it paranoia if they really are out to get you?
Thank you, SussexDem40. This is nothing but a racket. It has nothing to do with the Drug War (other than the Drug War is the pretext for these takings) and it definitely has nothing to do with justice.
It’s time to put an end to this. Maybe if we do what Missouri and New Mexico have done–designate that all proceeds from these seizures go to the General Fund rather than to a police slush fund–you’ll eliminate the incentive for police to ‘suspect drug activity’ entirely.
Me? I think this ‘civil forfeiture’ scam should be repealed. It seems to clearly violate the 4th Amendment, and can only lead to more distrust and lack of respect for law enforcement.