Controversial Iowa asset forfeiture case highlighted on CNN

Two California professional gamblers whose $100,020 poker bankroll was seized by the Iowa State Patrol after a controversial 2013 traffic stop were highlighted Wednesday in a report on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360.

William "Bart" Davis and John Newmerzhycky were driving on Interstate 80 in Poweshiek County in April 2013 when they were pulled over by trooper Justin Simmons for allegedly not using a turn signal while passing. Simmons and another trooper searched the pair's rented Nissan Altima without a warrant because the troopers suspected the two gamblers were involved in drug trafficking.

The gambler's bankroll was seized under Iowa's civil asset forfeiture law after the troopers found the money and a small amount of marijuana. Both Davis and Newmerzhycky had California medical marijuana cards.

The state of Iowa eventually returned $90,000 of the money as part of a settlement, though one-third of the cash was spent by Davis and Newmerzhycky on attorneys' fees. An attorney for the pair filed a lawsuit in September against the troopers, arguing that the seizure was unconstitutional, in part because video of the incident showed Newmerzhycky using his turn signal.

"It made me angry," Davis told CNN journalist Gary Tuchman in an interview that aired Wednesday. "How can you not be angry and saddened."

The gambler's story has gained national prominence since it was first reported by The Des Moines Register. In addition to the Anderson Cooper 360 segment, the story was featured in November in a series by the Washington Post. The Post series revealed that using federal forfeiture laws, state and local law enforcement have kept more than $2.5 billion seized from motorists since Sept. 11, 2001.

READ MORE:California gamblers say Iowa cash seizure was illegal

Iowa's forfeiture law allows troopers or local police to seize money if they suspect it could be used in criminal activity. The Iowa State Patrol's drug interdiction team that regularly patrols Interstate 80 is trained to look at factors such as whether a driver appears nervous during a stop or whether a driver and passenger tell inconsistent stories. Money seized is split between county attorney offices, the state attorney general's office and the state patrol.

Advocates of civil forfeiture argue that the practice cripples drug and human traffickers by taking their cash. Critics, however, argue that the law unconstitutionally allows police to seize money from people who are never charged with a crime.

Davis and Newmerzhycky's lawsuit names both troopers involved in the stop, as well as Desert Snow, a private training firm that teaches law enforcement criminal interdiction tactics. Both Desert Snow and the Iowa Attorney General's office have asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit.