Wyoming Supreme Court: State Must Return Over $470,000 To Driver Who Was Never Charged With A Crime

Wyoming violated an innocent motorist’s constitutional rights when it seized nearly half a million dollars from him and then “unreasonably delayed filing” a civil forfeiture lawsuit against his cash, the state’s supreme court ruled on Tuesday. By taking nine months to file, “the state’s delay in instituting proceedings violated his due process rights under the United States Constitution,” Justice Lynne Boomgaarden wrote for a unanimous court. Such a lengthy delay, coupled with the lack of judicial oversight, increased “the risk that the seizure was an arbitrary encroachment on his property right,” Boomgaarden added.

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