A Texas appeals court has ordered Harris County to give back over $41,000 in cash that was taken from truck driver Ameal Woods in 2019. He was stopped by deputies on I-10 for following too closely, and officers found bundles of cash in his rental car. Woods, who said he was in Houston to buy trucking equipment, was not charged or ticketed.
The issue: Police suspected the cash was tied to drugs, but couldn't provide clear evidence. Their main reason for seizing the cash came down to a K-9 sniff and Woods mentioning he knew people “in the drug world.”
- No drugs, tickets, or charges came from the stop.
- The seizure was made under civil forfeiture laws, even though Woods and his partner said the money came from family to buy trucking gear.
- In 2023, a local jury sided with the county. But the appeals court just said there wasn’t enough proof the money was for drugs.
"Cash is not a crime," said a lawyer from the Institute for Justice, the group that fought the case for Woods and his partner. The court said, “the government can’t take people’s property without evidence of a crime.”
The ruling makes Harris County return the $41,680, reported Institute for Justice.