Irene* got into trouble with the law when sheriff’s deputies observed what they believed to be illegal drug purchases being made from her home in the Spokane Valley. Using a warrant, deputies searched her home and arrested her after finding small amounts of illegal drugs. She was eventually cleared of the charges by reason of incompetency related to post-traumatic stress disorder.
Unfortunately for Irene, sheriff’s deputies also seized her car, under the state’s seizure and forfeiture law (RCW 65.50.505). The seizure action may have been valid if, in fact, illegal drugs had been found in the car, or if there were other evidence that the vehicle had been used “to facilitate the sale, delivery, or receipt” of illegal drugs. But no drugs had been found in the car, nor was there any evidence that the 2005 vehicle had been used in drug transactions.
By the time Irene’s case reached the Center, it had already been assigned for an administrative hearing to decide whether the seizure of the vehicle was warranted. Yet, because she couldn’t afford a lawyer, it appeared as through she would have to fend for herself in her efforts, at the hearing, to recover her car. It was at this point that a Center legal intern did the research to determine whether there was any legal basis for the seizure and, finding none, the Center opted to intervene.
When the Center for Justice filed a notice of appearance on Irene’s behalf, it was a clear indication to the county that she would be represented by counsel at the hearing. Within 48 hours of the notice, a county deputy prosecutor researched the case and, finding nothing in the record to indicate the car was involved in illegal drug activity, the county agreed to settle. The hearing was cancelled. Irene got her car back.
*Not her real name.
