Legal theft

"'Legally made' and 'lawfully seized'". Oh really? [Link]

He fought the law and he won.

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.”

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.”