Eighth Circuit Appeals Court ruling says police may seize cash from motorists even in the absence of any evidence that a crime has been committed [and keep it].
A federal appeals court ruled yesterday that if a motorist is carrying large sums of money, it is automatically subject to confiscation. In the case entitled, "United States of America v. $124,700 in U.S. Currency," the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit took that amount of cash away from Emiliano Gomez Gonzolez, a man with a "lack of significant criminal history" neither accused nor convicted of any crime.
On May 28, 2003, a Nebraska state trooper signaled Gonzolez to pull over his rented Ford Taurus on Interstate 80. The trooper intended to issue a speeding ticket, but noticed the Gonzolez's name was not on the rental contract. The trooper then proceeded to question Gonzolez -- who did not speak English well -- and search the car.
The trooper found a cooler containing $124,700 in cash, which he confiscated. A trained drug sniffing dog barked at the rental car and the cash. For the police, this was all the evidence needed to establish a drug crime that allows the force to keep the seized money.
Associates of Gonzolez testified in court that they had pooled their life savings to purchase a refrigerated truck to start a produce business. Gonzolez flew on a one-way ticket to Chicago to buy a truck, but it had sold by the time he had arrived. Without a credit card of his own, he had a third-party rent one for him. Gonzolez hid the money in a cooler to keep it from being noticed and stolen. He was scared when the troopers began questioning him about it. There was no evidence disputing Gonzolez's story.
Yesterday the Eighth Circuit summarily dismissed Gonzolez's story. It overturned a lower court ruling that had found no evidence of drug activity, stating, "We respectfully disagree and reach a different conclusion... Possession of a large sum of cash is 'strong evidence' of a connection to drug activity."
Judge Donald Lay found the majority's reasoning faulty and issued a strong dissent.
"Notwithstanding the fact that claimants seemingly suspicious activities were reasoned away with plausible, and thus presumptively trustworthy, explanations which the government failed to contradict or rebut, I note that no drugs, drug paraphernalia, or drug records were recovered in connection with the seized money," Judge Lay wrote. "There is no evidence claimants were ever convicted of any drug-related crime, nor is there any indication the manner in which the currency was bundled was indicative ofdrug use or distribution."
"Finally, the mere fact that the canine alerted officers to the presence of drug residue in a rental car, no doubt driven by dozens, perhaps scores, of patrons during the course of a given year, coupled with the fact that the alert came from the same location where the currency was discovered, does little to connect the money to a controlled substance offense," Judge Lay Concluded.
"We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force." [AynRand, The Nature of Government]
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we are very quickly becoming blind to what is unfolding in front of us
Chadsly
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I agree that the situation is a little rediculous, but you have to admit that if you pulled someone over with a large wad of cash and were driving a rental car that they were not registered to drive that you would be suspicious.
BTW I hope their produce business works out well for them.
The Bigfoot
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Call the local paper and ask em to check up on it. I'd bet an investigative reporter would smell scandal and run with the story. If they are legit it still makes a good human interest peice with the whole court thing.
Tex...feel like making a trip to Nebraska? LOL
glassman
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face it...
the constitution is crumbling...
the whole notion that they can seize your assets and make you prove that you and the assets are innocent is contrary to the Founding Fathers intent...
we were founded by revolutionaries.... they were telling the King he aint the King o'them...
i wanna know if this guy is a legal immigrant... nospeakadaenglais?
CashCowMoo
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the patriot act is ridiculous...we are giving up freedoms in the name of security. our founding fathers warned against this. we have a different breed of presidents these days..no more eisenhowers, trumans, or roosevelts. no more washingtons or adams, just corrupt business puppeted leaders
bdgee
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Self centered crooks.
MoneyMoneyMoney
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America will not be invaded except from within. Its sad, very sad.
trade04
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Hmmm rental cars. wonder how much cocaine and marijuana was dropped in there, in between seats where vaccums cant get. so many people rent cars and smoke in them. if no drugs were found i dont see why this man cant keep his money
speedy
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quote:Originally posted by CashCowMoo: we are very quickly becoming blind to what is unfolding in front of us
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