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Saturday, November 27, 2010
Ind. Courts - "Lawmakers might specify division of seized assets"
From Heather Gillers' story Nov. 25th in the Indianapolis Star:
The tussle over how to divide seized asset funds between public schools and public safety is already headed for the courthouse. Now, it appears bound for the Statehouse.Sen. Richard Bray announced Wednesday he plans to introduce a bill within the next few weeks that would increase oversight of forfeiture funds and clarify how to share the money, which is seized from suspected criminals, between education and law enforcement.
"Indiana had three goals in mind when drafting the existing state forfeiture laws," Bray, R-Martinsville, said in a news release. "First, we wanted to send the message that crime doesn't pay. Second, we wanted to alleviate the costs of prosecution and law enforcement. Third, we wanted to enhance Hoosier communities by giving back to our schools."
The current law says that funds from seized assets should be sent to the state's Common School Fund, which lends money for school technology and construction projects. Prosecutors are allowed to keep enough funds to cover law enforcement costs.
A Star investigation, however, revealed that prosecutors have wildly varying interpretations of law enforcement costs -- and many counties, including Marion, never send any money to the school fund.
The issue is the basis for a lawsuit unsealed last week in Marion Superior Court. The suit claims 78 prosecutors kept forfeiture funds not intended for them and failed to turn over money owed to the state's Common School Fund.
The Indianapolis firm that brought the whistleblower suit estimates that the schools should have received almost $17 million more in the past year alone.
Bray, however, called suing prosecutors for the money "ridiculous." He and Attorney General Greg Zoeller, who announced Tuesday that he is defending the prosecutors against the suit, think the issue is one for lawmakers.
"They aren't intentionally violating the law," Bray said. "We need a few more guidelines."
Posted by Marcia Oddi on November 27, 2010 11:44 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts