Invalid License Impound

[ConfusedinTex]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas

My brother was driving my car from Houston to Dallas for my wedding and was pulled over in a small town for speeding. The officer informed him that his license was "invalid", which came as a shock to my brother. We have always lived in Texas and he has always had a valid license. When my brother explained to the officer that he had been stopped in Houston the previous month and there was no problem with his license he was told "Well I guess their computers are not up to date". I have a hard time believing a one stoplight town in central Texas has a better computer system than the 4th largest city in the nation, but I digress. He was then told the car was going to be impounded, even though it was parked in a parking lot at the time and my brother explained that I was on the way up there. The car was also searched, which I find odd since there did not seem to be probable cause to do so. There were never any arrests made, only a citation issued. My brother was extremely respectful the whole time, and in no way was short or rude with the officer. Once my brother returned home he called the Texas DPS and they informed him that his license is valid and there are no problems with it what-so-ever. I also had a friend who is an HPD officer run his license and got the same result. My question is this, is there anything I can do in repsonse to what seems to be a completely invalid impounding of my car? It would seem to me that there must be something that I can do in response to what seems to be a completely illegal action by the officer. Thanks in advance for the advice.

 

[Silverplum]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas

My brother was driving my car from Houston to Dallas for my wedding and was pulled over in a small town for speeding. The officer informed him that his license was "invalid", which came as a shock to my brother. We have always lived in Texas and he has always had a valid license. When my brother explained to the officer that he had been stopped in Houston the previous month and there was no problem with his license he was told "Well I guess their computers are not up to date". I have a hard time believing a one stoplight town in central Texas has a better computer system than the 4th largest city in the nation, but I digress. He was then told the car was going to be impounded, even though it was parked in a parking lot at the time and my brother explained that I was on the way up there. The car was also searched, which I find odd since there did not seem to be probable cause to do so. There were never any arrests made, only a citation issued. My brother was extremely respectful the whole time, and in no way was short or rude with the officer. Once my brother returned home he called the Texas DPS and they informed him that his license is valid and there are no problems with it what-so-ever. I also had a friend who is an HPD officer run his license and got the same result. My question is this, is there anything I can do in repsonse to what seems to be a completely invalid impounding of my car? It would seem to me that there must be something that I can do in response to what seems to be a completely illegal action by the officer. Thanks in advance for the advice.

Nothing happened to you. Therefore, there is nothing you can do.

Just because you find something to be "odd," does not make it illegal.

 

[ConfusedinTex]

Having my car impounded on a false charge is what happened to me. The fact that I found the search to be odd given that there was no probable cause was not the incident.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

I would suggest you file against the city for damages. You will probably be going in front of Bubba, the officers cousin. Expect to lose in those circumstances. Try filing a complaint with the state police and your state legislature rep. Chances are they were fishing for drugs and wanted to confiscate the car.