Thundering Thursday VOL 8-52 – Kansas Highway Patrol Seeks To Destroy 1959 Corvette

September 4, 2021 Off By Mike Vietro

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Vol 8-52 • September 2, 2021

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Attorney Explains The Legal Case

Mr. Martinez bought a classic 1959, but when he went to register it in Kansas, the Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP) found issues with the car’s VIN number. KHP Superintendent Col. Herman Jones stated “When the owner presented this car for inspection, it was found that the Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) on the Corvette had been altered, defaced or destroyed. Pursuant to Kansas statute, such a vehicle cannot be legally registered and must be seized as contraband.”

Even though the state’s attorney admits Martinez is innocent of any crime, the KHP then seized the car and has spent years in court working to destroy the Corvette under asset forfeiture laws.

The Kansas Justice Institute (KJI) has stepped in and is fighting to return the 1959 Corvette to Mr. Martinez. “Asset forfeiture is when the government takes a person’s property without a criminal conviction. In some cases, the person is never even charged with a crime, as was the case with Mr. Martinez,” said KJI Litigation Director Sam MacRoberts. “Asset forfeiture is bad enough, but it’s especially bad in this case because the government admits Mr. Martinez did nothing wrong.”

“When the government knows someone is innocent, they shouldn’t use their power and resources to take their property. Kansas’s forfeiture laws are to blame. The United States and Kansas Constitutions do not permit the government to acknowledge a person’s innocence, on the one hand, and then with the other, declare the innocent person’s property ‘contraband’ and take it,” MacRoberts said.

Currently, the fate of the 1959 Corvette is still in the hands of the court.

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