FARGO, N.D. (AP) A Fargo attorney who won a court battle over a confiscated pay loader that was given away by a state agent says a proposed bill in the Legislature would allow police officers rather than a judge decide what happens to allegedly stolen property.
The proposal by Rep. Kim Koppelman of West Fargo would repeal two sections of state law that require police to hold confiscated property until a judge decides what to do with it.
Fargo attorney Mark Friese, who last month successfully argued for police to return a stolen loader to his client, says he doesn't think it's a good idea to take the courts out of the process.
Koppelman says his proposal scraps old laws that conflict with a 1991 law regarding confiscated property.