A Driver Had $50,000 Seized By A Nevada Cop, But Wasn’t Charged With A Crime. Now He’s Getting His Money Back
” 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 arrested 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.”
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, California and Michigan.”
It’s a step in the right direction , but as the article notes , it’s a victory for those two men only right now as the law remains in place .
” Yet the settlement for Nguyen and Lee does not affect Nevada’s abysmal civil forfeiture laws. The state’s current system allows police to “seize property under a legal standard lower than the beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard used in criminal convictions. Owners bear the burden of proof, meaning they have to prove their innocence in court. In addition, law enforcement agencies keep 100 percent of the forfeiture proceeds.” No wonder Nevada earned a D+ in IJ’s report, “Policing for Profit.” “
Read the whole thing at Forbes
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