I wanted to post an update to the status of my interesting new case I mentioned in my June 11 post – the Judge granted my motion to transfer venue to the District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Amarillo Division. We now get to try this case in Amarillo. The government lawyers will [...]
I have an interesting new case – a civil forfeiture case in federal court. I find it interesting not because of the facts of the case but because of where the case was filed by the federal government’s lawyers. My client was stop by law enforcement officers near Amarillo in Potter County, Texas. During the [...]
Following up on my January 15 post, the state has dismissed the money laundering charges against one of my clients. The asset forfeiture case associated with the criminal case has also been dismissed. All of my client’s money has now been returned to him. When I took this case, I didn’t believe the state would [...]
In recent years, confiscating “drug money” has become an ever-increasing priority of the Texas Department of Public Safety. According to a recent two-part series in the Amarillo Globe-News, between January 1, 2005, and June 30, 2010, about $14.6 million in U.S. currency was seized by the Highway Patrol on the 178 mile stretch of Interstate-40 [...]
Seizure and forfeiture of contraband in Texas is governed by Chapter 59 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. Under Texas law, contraband is defined as (1) any property that is used or intended to be used in the commission of certain crimes; (2) the proceeds gained from the commission of certain crimes; (3) any [...]