This Massachusetts lawmaker wants to throw folks in prison for having secret car compartments
[The lawmaker and those police who] support [the bill] should come as no surprise, given that the law will allow police to keep any vehicle they seize … and it could send people to prison for drug crimes even if no one finds so much as a single joint or fentanyl tablet in their possession … the state doesn’t have to prove a citizen’s guilt to keep the property; the citizen must prove his innocence to get it back.
The bill does not require that there actually be contraband in the hidden compartment, only that a person’s “intent” is to use it to transport illicit goods. Then there’s this clarification in the section authorizing forfeiture: Proof that a conveyance contains a hidden compartment as defined in this section shall be prima facie evidence that the conveyance was used intended for use in and for the business of unlawfully manufacturing, dispensing, or distributing controlled substances. The bill defines a “hidden compartment” as any concealable storage space added to a vehicle after its purchase. The quoted section means that a defendant accused of violating this law is put in the position of having to prove a negative—that the compartment isn’t intended to transport drugs.
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This Massachusetts lawmaker wants to throw folks in prison for having secret car compartments
Artwork Fair Use: USCapitol
