City Council OKs Seizure of Johns’ Cars

The Los Angeles City Council gave initial approval Friday to a law that would allow police to seize and sell vehicles used by motorists while soliciting prostitutes.

The ordinance, which was given unanimous council approval but requires a second vote next Tuesday, was endorsed by Police Chief William J. Bratton as a way to address a problem plaguing some Los Angeles neighborhoods.

Bratton said a similar law proved effective in New York City when he headed the department there. “It’s intended to be another tool to discourage people from using their cars to solicit prostitution,” Bratton said after the vote.

LAPD officials said the department has primarily targeted prostitutes and pimps for enforcement action in the past. Friday’s vote represents the city’s most ambitious effort to go after their customers.

“If you dry up the market, hopefully [the prostitutes] will go away,” said Capt. Michael Downing, commanding officer of the Hollywood Division, which accounted for 2,000 of the city’s 3,100 prostitution arrests this year.

The measure, drafted by Councilman Tom LaBonge, who represents Hollywood, is based on similar ordinances in Oakland and Stockton.

Once people realize they can lose their car, LaBonge said, it will reduce the number of motorists driving into Los Angeles neighborhoods looking for prostitutes.

“If you come to Hollywood and disrespect the neighborhoods there, the Police Department is going to take your wheels and put you on your heels,” LaBonge said.

The ordinance was opposed by Ramona Ripston, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, who said it unfairly allows police to confiscate property even if the suspect is never charged or convicted of a crime.

“On the face of it, it’s clearly unconstitutional,” Ripston said. “There is a lack of due process.”

The ACLU sued to challenge the Oakland ordinance three years ago, but that measure was upheld in legal proceedings that went all the way to the state Supreme Court.

Ripston said her office will review the Los Angeles law to see if there are differences that might allow a new legal challenge.

Police envision using the law as part of sting operations in which female police officers pose as prostitutes and tape solicitations before making arrests.

As long as the police have probable cause to believe that a vehicle was used in the commission of soliciting prostitution, officers can immediately seize the vehicle as a nuisance, according to the proposed measure.

If the city attorney determines the facts warrant forfeiture of the car, a notice is sent to the owner, who then has 10 days to file a claim opposing forfeiture with the Superior Court. If no claim is filed, or if a judge rules against the vehicle owner, the vehicle can be sold with the proceeds divided between the Police Department and the city attorney’s office.

The forfeiture proceeding is a civil process separate from the criminal process, and a car can be forfeited even if the motorist is not convicted of a criminal act.

The city attorney has discretion to not pursue a vehicle in cases of hardship and, in other cities, some motorists have been able to buy back the vehicles.

Business owners and residents in areas of Los Angeles where prostitution is rampant welcomed the plan, saying drastic action is needed.

“If you eliminate the customers, you eliminate the sales,” said Flip Smith, a tire store owner who has organized a business watch program to fight prostitution and drug dealing along Sepulveda Boulevard in Van Nuys.

Councilwoman Janice Hahn said she is glad the city is finally going after the men who solicit prostitutes.

“I think this is an important way to curb prostitution,” Hahn said. “I like this because sometimes I think our prostitution laws unfairly always target the women.”

The Los Angeles measure is already garnering national attention. “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno joked in his monologue Thursday that the real punishment for the men who lose their cars will be having to ask their wives for a ride to work the next morning.

Convinced the forfeiture idea may have other applications, the council also voted unanimously Friday to ask the city attorney to draft a law allowing the seizure of cars used by gang members in committing crimes.