Feds took too much of dishwasher's cash, judge says
"Zapeta was carrying $59,000 in cash when he was stopped at a security checkpoint at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in 2005. He told authorities he was returning home to Guatemala with the money he had saved working illegally as a dishwasher over 11 years.
But federal law requires that anyone leaving or entering the country with $10,000 or more must declare it. Because Zapeta had not done so, he was detained, and his money was seized.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that the judge who fined Zapeta applied an incorrect standard in determining the amount to be forfeited. The appeals court ordered a hearing to set a new fine."
PATRICK OPPMANN in CNN.