Supreme Court limits money laundering law

In a blow to prosecutors who use the law in drug cases, the justices rule that hiding cash to take it out of the U.S. is not proof of a crime. They also say the law applies only to profits -- not to a

By David G. Savage, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
June 3, 2008

WASHINGTON -- Hiding $81,000 in cash under the floorboard of a car and driving toward Mexico is not enough to prove the driver was guilty of money laundering, the Supreme Court ruled Monday. Instead, the court said, prosecutors must also prove the driver was traveling to Mexico for the purpose of hiding the true source of the funds.

This was one of a pair of decisions handed down Monday that could make it harder for prosecutors to win convictions for money laundering. This law has been one of the government's most powerful weapons in the war on drugs. Continue ->

Stephen Martinez