Muskogee DA Drops Forfeiture Case Against Christian Orphanage, Church, and Band

Victory: Muskogee DA Drops Forfeiture Case Against 

Christian Orphanage, Church, and Band

Muskogee, Okla.—This afternoon, Muskogee, Oklahoma, District Attorney Orvil Loge indicated that his office was officially dropping all charges against Eh Wah, a Burmese refugee he had charged with possession of drug proceeds [background stories from the Institute for Justice and the Washington Post]. He also indicated that he would drop the civil forfeiture and immediately return the money Muskogee law enforcement officials took from a group of Karen Christian refugees from Burma and Thailand. The announcement comes less than a day after the Institute for Justice announced that it was representing the innocent owners in the case.

Following the announcement, Institute for Justice (IJ) Attorney Dan Alban issued the following statement:

“We are thrilled that District Attorney Loge has dropped the criminal case against Eh Wah and offered to return the money to the band, the church and the orphanage. The intense public scrutiny generated by this outrageous case led to justice being served. Unfortunately, civil forfeiture laws allows property to be seized from innocent people every day in this country. The law allows this to occur and most people do not have the media or pro bono counsel to fight it. Absent the extraordinary circumstances of this case, that property is almost always forfeited and lost for good, even if no one is charged with or convicted of a crime.”

“Muskogee has no excuse for this gross miscarriage of justice. Based on next to no evidence, what started as an ordinary traffic stop turned into a nightmare. They turned a man’s entire life upside down. It should have never come to this. This is a clear-cut case of abuse of power.”

“Not every civil forfeiture victim is a Christian orphanage or a world-renowned Burmese Christian band, but when even their money isn’t safe, no one’s money is safe from forfeiture abuse. This case illustrates that civil forfeiture laws are fundamentally unjust.”

IJ Senior Attorney Matt Miller added:

“Earlier this year, Oklahoma rejected a bill that would have reformed the state’s civil forfeiture laws to better protect property owners after law enforcement claimed that there was no evidence the law was being abused. This case shows that no one’s property is safe from a forfeiture system that incentivizes police to take as much cash and property as possible while making it difficult for owners of that property to fight back. Civil forfeiture needs to end, or be radically reformed. It cannot come soon enough.”

Finally, Eh Wah added:

“This was an experience that no one should ever have to live through. It felt like something that would happen in a third-world country, but not in the United States. I’m just so happy that this is over and I hope that no one else will have to go through something like this.”

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It's amazing how quickly justice can move when enough attention is brought to bear. It certainly makes you wonder about similar situations where money is wrongly seized, but this type of ending doesn't occur. Kudos to the Washington Post and others for shining light on this, and bringing this outcome to pass.

Mike McCarville (the "elder statesman" of Oklahoma's conservative blogosphere) has been beating the drum for quite some time now on changing Oklahoma's civil asset forfeiture laws. It's a shame that powers-that-be in the state legislature stopped State Sen. Kyle Loveless' attempts to bring much-needed reform to this issue.

Muskogee Politico's Picks - Muskogee County

Muskogee Politico's Picks for Races in Muskogee County:

• State House District 13 - Debbie Lienhart (R, Haskell)
  

The Muskogee Politico endorses Debbie Lienhart, with the full realization that she will lose overwhelmingly. Lienhart has failed to run an active campaign, which is a shame, because the current representative is very liberal. Hopefully, this district will have an energetic Republican candidate next election. In 2000, Republican Stuart Ericson won this seat (and was subsequently re-elected in 2002, but lost in 2004), proving that it is possible for the GOP to win in this district.

• State House District 14 - Rep. George Faught (R, Muskogee)

For the House District 14 race, the Muskogee Politico endorses Rep. George Faught. Rep. Faught has done a good job as representative, and deserves to be returned. He has fought to make English the official language, for tough immigration reform, for pro-life issues and for lower taxes. Faught made history in 2006 by becoming the first Republican to win this State House seat, and we want him to make history again by being re-elected.

• Muskogee County Sheriff - Charles Pearson (D, Muskogee)

The Muskogee Politico has decided to endorse the current sheriff, Charles Pearson. In his years in office, Sheriff Pearson has done a good job. Roger Lee, the Republican candidate, has run against Pearson before (he ran as a Democrat four years ago), and appears to have something personal against him. In our opinion, the only reason to vote for Roger Lee is to boost the Republican percentage of the vote (thereby encouraging future Republican candidates).

(We would like to see this race, and other county races, made non-partisan, but that's a totally different topic.)

• Muskogee County Proposition 1 - Yes
  

Text of the Proposition: "Shall Muskogee County, Oklahoma implement a 9-1-1 Land Line Emergency Telephone Service as authorized by the 9-1-1 Land Line Emergency Number Act, Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes Sections 2811-2821, and fund such service through the imposition of a 9-1-1 emergency Land Line telephone fee for each Land Line connection (e.g. Land Line Telephone) in the county as determined by the subscriber's place of primary use, which fee shall be in the amount of fifteen percent (15%) per month for each Land Line connection (e.g. Land Line Telephone)?"

Although the fee seems high to me, I have not been convinced that we should not pass this Proposition. As I say below, Muskogee County needs a up-to-date, uniform 9-1-1 service badly. The Muskogee Politico tentatively endorses Prop 1.

• Muskogee County Proposition 2 - Yes
  

Text of the Proposition: "Shall Muskogee County, Oklahoma implement a 9-1-1 Wireless Emergency Telephone Service as authorized by the 9-1-1 Wireless Emergency Number Act, Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes Sections 2841-2904, and fund such service through the imposition of a 9-1-1 emergency wireless telephone fee for each wireless connection (e.g. cellular telephone Telephone) in the county as determined by the subscriber's place of primary use, which fee shall be in the amount of fifty cents ($0.50) per month for each wireless connection (e.g. cellular telephone)?"

Again, as I have not been convinced otherwise, the Muskogee Politico endorses Prop 2. Muskogee County does not have a uniform 9-1-1 service county-wide, which affects the emergency service provided. This fee seems a bit easier to take than the other one.

Muskogee Politico's Picks, Intro

Since there is less than one week until the election, it's time to unveil the Muskogee Politico's Picks. I'll list the races here, and then post my picks on separate posts.

Races in Muskogee County:
Incumbents are italicized.

• State House District 13 - Debbie Lienhart (R, Haskell) vs. Jerry McPeak (D, Warner)
  
• State House District 14 - George Faught (R, Muskogee) vs. Eugene Blankenship (D, Muskogee)
• Muskogee County Sheriff - Roger Lee (R, Muskogee) vs. Charles Pearson (D, Muskogee)
  
• Muskogee County Proposition 1
• Muskogee County Proposition 2
  

State-wide Races
Incumbents are italicized.

• Corporation Commission, Short Term - Dana Murphy (R, Edmond) vs. Jim Roth (D, OKC)
• Corporation Commission, Full Term - Jeff Cloud (R, OKC) vs. Charles Gray (D, OKC)
• State Question No. 735
• State Question No. 741
  
• State Question No. 742
• State Question No. 743

Judicial Retention Races

• Oklahoma Supreme Court - John Reif
• Oklahoma Supreme Court - Tom Colbert
• Oklahoma Supreme Court - Joseph Watt
• Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals - Charles Johnson
• Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals - Gary Lumpkin
• Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals - Jerry Goodman
• Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals - Jane Wiseman
• Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals - Keith Rapp
• Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals - John Fischer
  

Federal Races
Incumbents are italicized.

• Congressional District 2 - Raymond Wickson (R, Okmulgee) vs. Dan Boren (D, Muskogee)
• U.S. Senate - Jim Inhofe (R, Tulsa) vs. State Sen. Andrew Rice (D, OKC)
  
• President - Sen. John McCain/Gov. Sarah Palin (R, AZ/AK) vs. Sen. Barack Obama/Sen. Joe Biden (D, IL/DE)

Now, no guarantee that I'll post these all in one day... there's more on the ballot than I realized!

Muskogee Phoenix Endorses Dana Murphy

The Muskogee Phoenix newspaper has endorsed Republicans Dana Murphy and Jeff Cloud for the Corporation Commission seats.

Commission Choices

We encourage voters to return Jeff Cloud to a second term on the state Corporation Commission.

We also encourage a vote for Dana Murphy, replacing the man who currently holds a seat on the commission.

Cloud has done a commendable job in his first term. There is no reason to replace him.

Cloud’s opponent, Charles Gray, has taken an admirable stance, stating that unlike Cloud, he would not take campaign donations from energy companies. State law does not prohibit those donations, though we think it should.

Still, Cloud, as others have pointed out, has shown a good balance between serving the interests of consumers and the interests of the companies the commission regulates.

Murphy has a long background in energy, and she served as an administrative law judge for the commission. She has all the qualifications for the job.

Her opponent, Jim Roth, has been on the board for two years after having been appointed by Gov. Brad Henry and serving as a two-term Oklahoma County commissioner.

Given the current energy crisis and the need for development of alternative energy sources, we believe it’s wise to elect someone with a strong energy background and someone who has dealt with energy and consumer issues for years.

The Muskogee Politico applauds this endorsement.

In this election, the Phoenix has endorsed Democrat Sen. Barack Obama for President, Democrat State Sen. Andrew Rice for U.S. Senate, Republican State Rep. George Faught for re-election, sort of endorsed Democrat State Rep. Jerry McPeak for re-election, and Democrat Sheriff Charles Pearson for re-election. They also endorsed the Muskogee County Questions Propositions 1 and 2, which deal with updating the 911 system. They endorsed voting 'no' on SQ 742, the 'Hunters Bill of Rights'.