Men Who Bought Truck With Pot Inside Suing Government

Two Mexican men who bought a vehicle at an auction and were jailed in Mexico after authorities found marijuana in the truck and sent them to prison for a year, can continue their lawsuit against the U.S. government, a federal judge has ruled.

The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that the government is immune from lawsuit involving incidents that take place out of the country, but U.S. District Judge Rudi Brewster ruled the government was acting as a business when it sold the car through an auction house.

Francisco Rivera, a Tijuana printer, bought a Nissan Pathfinder at an auction eight months after it was seized at the U.S.-Mexican border. A year later, Rivera and his brother were stopped at a Mexican checkpoint and marijuana was found hidden under the upholstery of the truck's front seat.

The men were sentenced to five years in prison and served a year before a Mexican judge ruled that the marijuana was so old it was worthless and was placed in the vehicle long before Rivera bought the truck.

Judge Brewster ruled that it was clear government workers were negligent in failing to find the pot.

See Union-Tribune: Judge: 2 Mexican Men May Sue U.S.