A driver was stopped in Nevada twice within an hour on Interstate 80 near Elko by state and local law enforcement.
The driver, Straughn Gorman, wasn't arrested, but the motor home he was driving was searched and more than $160,000 seized.
Now, a federal judge has ordered the money returned to the driver.
Vincent Savarese is Gorman's attorney. He told KNPR's State of Nevada that one of the judge's biggest problems with the case was the state's lack of candor about the investigation.
According to Savarese, Gorman was originally stopped by a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper along I-80. The trooper checked Gorman's driver's license, insurance and background to see if he had any outstanding warrants.
The trooper also tried to get a drug-sniffing dog to come out to the scene to sniff through the motor home. When he couldn't get the dog and all of Gorman's records checked out, he let him go.
However, the trooper called ahead to the Elko County Sheriff's department and asked that a deputy sheriff look for Gorman and stop him. He also requested a drug-sniffing dog come along for the search.
The dog found nothing, but officers did find the money.
Savarese said the judge felt the government had not be forthcoming in explaining that the two searches were related.
For the attorney, the case isn't just about Gorman and the money but about unreasonable searches.
"This is a rather typical example, in my opinion, of circumstances when you have an exploratory investigation resulting in the unreasonable detention and restraint of a citizen without adequate cause based strictly on an officers hunch that is not supported by anything of objective in terms of factual basis," Savarese said.
The judge agreed that the detentions and seizure were illegal because they were not based on reasonable, objective suspicion, which is required under the Fourth Amendment.
Vincent Savarese, attorney
