Bid to recover Land Rover reaches top U.S. court

U.S. Supreme Court justices on Wednesday appeared inclined to rule in favour of an Indiana man who argues that police violated his constitutional rights by seizing his $42,000 Land Rover vehicle following a heroin-related conviction.

The appeal by Tyson Timbs asks the nine justices to decide whether the prohibition on "excessive fines" under the Constitution's Eighth Amendment applies to states as well as the federal government. Based on an hour of arguments in the case, the court appears likely to rule that it does, which would mean Timbs can pursue his claim that his Land Rover was unjustly taken from him.

Timbs faced two counts of dealing in controlled substances and one count of conspiracy to commit theft after being caught in 2013 selling heroin to undercover police officers in Marion, Indiana. In 2015, he pleaded guilty to two of the counts in exchange for the other being dropped. He was sentenced to one year of home detention and five years of probation, though authorities seized his vehicle.

The vehicle was taken in a process called civil asset forfeiture that permits police to seize and keep property involved in a crime.

A ruling is due by the end of June.