It Is a Crime for the Poor to Have Cash

This is an era when the rich never carry cash. Even checks have been replaced by endless variations of plastic and electronic blips. In such a time possessing cash is immediately suspect. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has gone that next step farther, declaring that the posession of cash is, in itself, sufficient evidence of criminal acts.

The case was the quaintly named United States of America vs. $124,700 in U.S. Currency. Emiliano Gomez Gonzolez and friends had pooled their savings and he had traveled to Chicago with the money, intending to purchase a refrigerated truck to start a produce business. He traveled with the cash because none of them had the good credit needed for electronic wealth. By the time he got to Chicago the truck had been sold to someone else, so Gonzolez rented a car to return home to Nevada.

Gonzolez was pulled over by the Nebraska Highway Patrol for speeding. Since Gonzolez had violated the unwritten law enforced in many states (Driving While Hispanic), the police searched the car and discovered the cash hidden in a cooler. A drug sniffing dog alerted on the car but no evidence of drugs was found. Gonzolez has no criminal history except a single drunk driving arrest and, in fact, was not charged from this encounter. However, the state of Nebraska confiscated the money, claiming it was drug related.

A trial court ruled that the money should be returned to its owners. The Eighth Circuit in a 2-1 vote overturned that ruling. The majority stated that the "Possession of a large sum of cash is 'strong evidence' of a connection to drug activity." Note, the man was not judged guilty of anything because there was absolutely no evidence of guilt. It was the money that was found guilty.

People who live on the fringes of society of necessity live according to different rules. People of property don't need to carry cash. People at the fringes do. On March 28, 2003 the Nebraska Highway Patrol committed highway robbery. Aided and abetted by the Learned Judges of the Eighth Circuit, they have stolen the life savings of humble men just trying to earn an honest living.

My thanks to Midtopia for finding this. Art is Diego Rivera's Night of the Poor.