Los Angeles Alert

[Guest gbere3]

I'm not sure if it's legal or in practice but I heard on a news station sound bite that the police in Los Angeles now have the authority to confiscate the car of the person who picks up a prostitute.

[Uncle Bill]

I actually posted something on this a couple months back. That's the new policy approved by the city council -- the city can even sell the car and pocket the proceeds. The new LA police chief is from NYC where he apparently used this tactic to get rid of all that nasty street crime that NYC must not have any more as a result of its application (right). It also applies to people who use their cars in the process of buying illegal drugs. (The theory is that if you get rid of the prostitutes and street drug dealers by targeting their clients more, that they will move on and take with them the other crime that is often attendent with them. The reality is that they move across the street to the next city, if anything.) I've started trying to make sure that even the in-calls and hotels that I use for escorts are either outside of the LA city limits (which are rather confusing) or that I know the escort well. If I was thinking about cruising for guys before this (including picking them up in bars), that is now definitely off, at least withing the city limits of LA. Probably overkill, but ...

[Guest fukamarine]

How can they do this if the car has a lien against it (as in it's not fully paid for and owner owes the bank) Would they not, by law, be required to pay of the amt oweing from proceeds of sale.

 

And what if the car was a leased car? The ownership would be in the leasing company's name.

 

I wonder if this whole proceedure would stand up to a legal challange?

 

It's unfair on so many levels. For example - It is like a fine for picking up a hooker. If you happen to be driving a 20 yr old junker, you are getting a fine of $500. If however you happen to be driving a new Benz, you could be getting a fine of $70,000 - all for doing the same "crime". Justice? I think not!

 

fukamarine

[bigguyinpasadena]

This thread is familliar.There is now a new wrinkle.If you are stopped for some"violation"and you are in the company of a known prostitute-drug dealer they will assume you are engaged in such practices and sieze your vehicle.This sounds like a good court case(freedom of association)hopefully someone with some balls will challenge it.Let's send Bratton and Hahn packing.

[Uncle Bill]

I don't know the process either. There was an article a while back in the LA Times regarding it, but there were not enough details. From what I could tell, it sounded like a huge violation of due process, and your point about the differing value of the vehicles is an interesting point for a court to deal with.

[Guest random]

Actually the law that allows them to do this has been around for years. Every so often they pull it out of their butts to try to curb the hustling.

 

And yes they can sell the vehicle. If the vehicle is used in the commission of a crime the bank cannot force its lien. The registered owner of the vehicle will still be responsible for the loan.

 

This is common when a vehicle is impounded by customs. The government will place a lien to sell the vehicle, though usually they will sell it back to the lienholder with written agreement that it will not be released or sold to the registered owner.

[Guest Dan]

Ah, yes, my glorious city, where a man lost his condo last month over an old unpaid $500 tax bill. Never mind that he that this was the only time that he had neglected to pay his tax bill and that he had paid for several years thereafter.

 

Dan Dare

http://meetlocalmen.com/mlm/dandarela.html

[Guest TexasTaurus]

A similar law here in Texas.

 

I have often wondered what happens if you are driving a rental car. When I come to LA I always rent a car and always check out the streets. Wonder what they would do about that if you got caught?

[Luv2play]

RE: A similar law here in Texas.

 

Guess it would be prudent to read the fine print of the rental agreement to see who's responsible if the car is used in the commission of a crime. I would expect the customer is. However, what occurs to me is that if I lived in a city like this and liked to cruise for hustlers in my car, I would buy a "cruising car" just for such purposes. Of course, I would also take along a lot of $$$ to wave around so that hustlers would not think I'm a penniless sort in my $500 jalopy.:7

[Guest TexasTaurus]

Why not hire a cab or a limo?

 

That would be cool driving along picking up "dates"/}(