Wyoming court orders return of $470K seized in traffic stop

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) - The Wyoming Supreme Court ordered state authorities to return $470,000 police seized during a traffic stop.

The court ruled Tuesday that the state attorney general's office violated Robert Miller's right to due process under the U.S. Constitution by waiting nine months from the date of the traffic stop to file a civil case, The Casper Star-Tribune reports.

The money was seized from the Illinois man in 2013 on the side of Interstate 80, authorities said.

A Wyoming highway patrolman found a manila envelope filled with cash in Miller's vehicle and an extended search turned up $470,000 in envelopes.

The trooper learned law enforcement records tied Miller to a drug case from California. That case, involving the hallucinogen LSD, was later revealed to be eight years old.

Miller was never charged with a crime in connection with the traffic stop.

The seizure was made under civil asset forfeiture law, which allows courts to award to the government money that authorities allege to be the proceeds of crimes.

Under the civil forfeiture process, prosecutors are not required to convict a person of a crime in order to be awarded the money.