Zaher El-Ali lost his car to the government because someone else got a DWI with his Chevrolet Silverado.
In 2004, Ali sold the truck to a man who paid him $500 down and agreed to pay the rest on credit. As with all cars bought on credit, Ali held the title to the car and had the vehicle registered in his name until the driver paid in full. In July 2009, the buyer was arrested for DWI. Because this was his third DWI arrest, the buyer was imprisoned, pled guilty and was sentenced to six years in prison. After the man’s arrest, the truck was seized for civil forfeiture even though Ali owns the vehicle, and even though it is undisputed that Ali is innocent of any crime.
To right this outrage and attack various unconstitutional aspects of Texas’ civil forfeiture laws, the Institute for Justice represented him in court. In 2014, the Texas Supreme Court declined to hear his case, though a majority of the Court signaled an interest in reviewing the constitutionality of modern Texas civil forfeiture practices in a future case.