EDITORIAL: If Bogden won’t drop baseless appeal, fire him

The arrogance of the U.S. attorney's office knows no bounds.

Two months ago, Senior U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks of Reno ordered federal prosecutors to return $167,000 to a motorist after the money was seized during an obviously unconstitutional search of a motor home by Elko County sheriff's deputies in 2013. Judge Hicks rightly said the motorist was entitled to have his attorney fees paid by the government as well.

The case was a perfect example of the civil forfeiture abuse that's too common across the country, and why the Justice Department finally is scaling back legal theft by law enforcement.

Yet the U.S. attorney's office has doubled down on overreach by appealing the judge's ruling — not only to keep the $167,000, but to fight the awarding of attorney fees.

Judge Hicks' decision was sound. Federal prosecutors are sore losers who don't care how much tax money and court time they waste. Is there a public official in Nevada who's less accountable than U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden? If he stands by this baseless, pointless appeal, the Justice Department should fire him.