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Unfair forfeiture ruling combined with abject stupidity
I can't believe that this guy collects $5.5 million in the lottery and THREE DAYS LATER gets busted for selling coke.
Of course, maybe he's one of those guys who was determined to keep it real and not let his new wealth change him one bit.
"I'm thrilled and blessed and thankful to have won the lottery. I might pay down some debts, buy my parents a new house, but I'm still the same old me. It's not like I'm about to quit my job. You'll still be able to find me where I've always been, selling coke out of the back of my uncle's ice house."
That said, I think it's wrong that lottery winnings are forfietable. I see the gov'ts argument -- if cars bought with drug monies are forfeited, then lottery tickets, win or lose, get forfeited too. I think there's a distinction in kind, but I can see both sides. I can't believe that this guy lost on the key factual issue -- how did the government prove beyond a reasonable doubt (it is a criminal standard, right, for forfeitures?) that the winning ticket was bought with drug money? That seems impossible. It seems impossible on a preponderance of the evidence standard. Maybe it's just that some Texas juries don't feel awful friendly towards convicted coke-peddlers. Still, this one leaves a bad taste in my mouth from a fairness perspective.
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