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pulled over, is bisected by I-70 just outside of St. Louis. Interstates are a particularly rich ground for forfeiture. Law
enforcement officials say that’s because
interstates are ideal for drug running.
Critics say it’s because police can target
out-of-state drivers, who are more likely
than local residents to accept a police officer’s baseless accusations and turn over
their property, rather than refuse and
face arrest, multiple returns to the state
for court dates and thousands of dollars
in legal expenses. The costs of fighting to
win back what was seized can often exceed the actual value of the property.
Faced with that choice, it isn’t difficult
to see why innocent people would opt to
hand over their cash and head home.
“The joke around our office is that all
you need for probable cause in Madison County is an Arizona, New Mexico,
Texas, or Florida license plate,” says
Rekowski, the public defender. Collinsville defense attorney Jessica Koester
says she’s seen the same thing. “If you’re
from out of state, they’re simply going to
find a reason to pull you over.”
Local news reports indicate that Illinois law enforcement agencies along
the I-70 corridor have ramped up their
forfeiture efforts in recent years in their
battle against drugs. Rekowski said one
tactic police use is to put up a sign for
a “drug checkpoint” roadblock ahead.
In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court said
such checkpoints are illegal; roadblocks
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are legal for DWI checks, but not for
narcotics checks. But Rekowski says
that isn’t the point.
“They put the sign up so there’s only
one exit you can take to avoid it. Then
they pull over and search anyone who
tries to exit before the roadblock.”
That tactic too is constitutionally
suspect. Police can’t pull a driver over
merely for exiting before an announced
(and illegal) drug checkpoint. “But, of
course, that isn’t why they’ll say they’ve
pulled you over,” Rekowski says. “They’ll
say you crossed two lanes to get to the
exit, or switched lanes without signaling,
or that you cut someone off.”
The Edwardsville Intelligencer reported in 2010 that the Madison County
State’s Attorney’s Office has reaped a
half-million dollars from the policy over
eight years, which at the prosecutor’s
take of 10-12 percent suggests a total
bounty of $4.5 million to $5 million.
Madison County Assistant State’s Attorney Stephanie Robbins, who handles forfeiture cases for the office, told local paper the Telegraph in 2010, “Law-abiding
citizens have nothing to worry about.”
But maybe they do. Jerome Chennault, a Nevada resident had the misfortune of driving through Madison
County on his way home after visiting
his son in Philadelphia.
Chennault said he had withdrawn
$22,870 in cash to take with him before
leaving Nevada, which he had intended
to use for a downpayment on a home.
After he was pulled over for following
another car too closely, Chennault gave