>>> January 31, 2002

Iowa boot
A six-year haul through the Iowa legal system has left one young man wholly unimpressed, and without his wheels. Parker Terrell was 16 when a Polk County, Iowa juvenile court ordered him to pay $35.81 (U.S.) in damages for trying to steal a car stereo system. Unfortunately, Terrell was a tad slow in coughing up the fine. Claiming Terrell’s ’94 Chevy Cavalier was fair compensation, officials seized the vehicle.
Terrell appealed the decision, citing cruel and unusual punishment and the fact that he was just a boy. The Iowa Supreme Court recently ruled against Terrell’s arguments, deciding the $9,000 (U.S.) car was rightly seized.
Justice J.L. Larson found that, had Terrell been charged as an adult, his fines would have equalled 10 grand, and that “it is the nature of the acts committed… not the forum in which the offender is prosecuted” that makes for authorized forfeiture. :

—Scott Saxon