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| -Land of the Free |
| Driver Had $50,000 Seized By Nevada Cop, Now He's Getting His Money Back |
| 2014-03-20 |
[Forbes] After Tan Nguyen was pulled over for driving three miles above the speed limit, he had $50,000 confiscated by a Nevada deputy. According to Nguyen, that money was casino winnings. As reported last week at Forbes, Nguyen "was not locked awayDrop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! or charged with a crime--not even a traffic citation." He filed a lawsuit in federal court, arguing his civil rights were violated by an "unconstitutional search and seizure." In that lawsuit, Nguyen claimed Deputy Lee Dove, who had pulled him over for speeding, threatened to seize and tow his car unless he "got in his car and drove off and forgot this ever happened." But in a settlement reached last week with Humboldt County, Nevada, Nguyen was fully reimbursed for all of the cash that was taken from him. He also received $10,000 to cover attorney's fees. In addition, the settlement fully reimbursed $2,400 to Matt Lee, who, like Nguyen, was pulled over and had his cash confiscated by Dove on I-80. Lee slammed that seizure as "highway robbery." In a statement released last Friday, the Humboldt County District Attorney's Office noted the two cases raised "procedural issues." The stops were "legally made" and the cash "lawfully seized." Nguyen's attorney disagrees. "If they had a defense, they wouldn't have paid us," said John Ohlson, a Reno lawyer who represented Nguyen. These cash seizures are a "hot-button topic in Humboldt County," Ohlson added. "A lot of people don't like it." The settlement is certainly great news for Nguyen and Lee. As the Institute for Justice noted previously, victories in civil forfeiture cases are rather rare, partially because "many victims of civil forfeiture simply don't have the resources to defend themselves in court. Since litigation can cost more than the property that was taken, many seizures aren't even contested." When wins do happen, they can make national headlines, as did IJ's successful defense of property owners in Massachusetts, Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party, and Michigan. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #4 Ever lived in New Mexico, Raj? For example, there's a little strip of HWY 47 just south of Albuquerque beyond the Isleta Reservation with two little villages that are the essence of 'speed trap' revenue (the Res doesn't count as it's Indian land, but almost as active). |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2014-03-20 11:40 |
| #3 What kind of a cop pulls someone over for three freakin' MPH above the limit? One working for a municipality where traffic fines are a significant source of revenue. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2014-03-20 11:12 |
| #2 Ever lived in New Mexico, Raj? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2014-03-20 10:58 |
| #1 What kind of a cop pulls someone over for three freakin' MPH above the limit? |
| Posted by: Raj 2014-03-20 10:22 |