Jacob Sullum on Traffic Stops, Fictional Infractions, and Furry Judges
On the morning of April 15, 2013, two California poker players were traveling west on Interstate 80 in Iowa, on the way back from a tournament in Joliet, Illinois, when a state trooper pulled them over. By the time the traffic stop was over, police had seized $100,000 in poker winnings from the two men, on the assumption that the cash must be connected to drug trafficking or some other illegal activity.
In addition to the legalized theft that is civil asset forfeiture, Jacob Sullum writes, the case illustrates the broad discretion that police have to hassle innocent people, a power magnified by loose rules concerning traffic stops and car searches. Sullum says two cases before the Supreme Court could help rein in that power.