WILL’s client is forced to pay for the upkeep and rent a truck it cannot use

The News: The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) demands that the Winnebago County State’s Attorney Office return a truck that was wrongfully seized following an accident. In January 2024, First Supply fell victim to a reckless driver. Subsequently, the truck was seized as evidence against the driver, even though no warrant authorized this seizure.

In March, First Supply inquired about the vehicle’s return. The local sheriff’s office confirmed they were done with the vehicle and directed First Supply to the State Attorney’s Office (SAO). Several months passed, and the SAO has failed to return the vehicle. First Supply is not only a victim of reckless driving, but of unjust confiscation. Notably, the case against the driver was recently dismissed, notwithstanding the death of his passenger, but the SAO has not communicated any plans for the truck’s release despite First Supply’s continued requests for its return.

The Quotes: WILL Associate, Skylar Croy, expressed, “This seizure goes far beyond a normal investigation associated with a reckless driving arrest—our client was also the victim and did nothing wrong. Taking our client’s vehicle without a warrant and holding onto it indefinitely is not only cruel, but unconstitutional. We urge the office to do what’s right and return this property immediately.”

Brittney Cornillaud, Corporate Counsel for First Supply remarked, “It was hard enough to have our delivery driver be involved in a fatal car accident, but to indefinitely lose our truck to impoundment hampers our ability to make a profit and pay our employees. We never could have expected that months would pass without getting it back, and now we pay thousands of dollars a month extra just to serve our customers. To add insult to injury, we’ve spent hours trying to retrieve our property only to be passed from person to person at the State’s Attorney’s Office, ignored by the prosecutor, and offered no support.”

Additional Background: First Supply is a family-owned plumbing and HVAC distributor based in Wisconsin. It rents trucks for about $2,800 a month and is responsible for all costs associated with its use of the trucks—including repairs. Following the accident, the illegal seizure of the truck has left the company shorthanded and impaired. First Supply is currently paying for the impounded vehicle and a second replacement vehicle.

First Supply has vigorously fought to get its truck back. The State’s Attorney’s Office has refused to return emails and phone calls—much less the truck. Additionally, several good faith attempts to contact the prosecutor assigned to the traffic matter were made. First Supply was unable to speak with that person; however, a “victim’s advocate” for the office informed First Supply that the office will retain the vehicle for the duration of any trial and potentially throughout any appeal which is apparently “standard practice.” Even though the case against the reckless driver is apparently over, the State’s Attorney’s Office is retaining the truck.

The office has not explained why it needs to keep the truck. Only two traffic offenses were ever at issue, and the office has pictures of the truck and can call the deputy who saw the truck immediately after the crash.

Read More:

• Demand Letter, July 2024