You are a judicial law clerk working for a state court judge in Sommerville County Superior Court.Sommerville County is a fictional county in Parker, a fictional state in the southwest part of the United States.

Your judge just asked you to work on a new case.The Plaintiff is Charlie Short and he is bringing a lawsuit against Sommerville County sheriff officials for impounding his van.The Sheriff claims Charlie's van was illegally parked in the street and blocking traffic.

Charlie operates several vending machines around town, which he started doing a few years ago after losing his job in a local factory, and he uses his large van to haul boxes of candy and snacks for restocking his machines.He relies on the income he receives from the vending machines to support his two kids.One day, after loading up one of his machines, he returned to his van and it was gone.There was a piece of paper pinned to a nearby pole informing him that his van was illegally parked and that other drivers and witnesses had provided statements that the van contributed to a dangerous situation on the roads.The note stated further that the van was impounded by the Sheriff's office, and that it could be claimed at the State Street impounding lot by showing title and paying a $200 fine.

Charlie was surprised.He did not think his van was illegally parked or obstructing traffic.The van is large and difficult to park, and Charlie thought it might have been sticking out into the street a little bit, but not very much.Charlie did not have $200 so he brought a lawsuit against the County Sheriff's office for violating his constitutional rights.

The Sheriff had impounded Charlie's van pursuant to a state statute providing:

A County Sheriff's office may remove and impound any motor vehicle that is obstructing traffic or contributing to a dangerous situation on the roads.Proper notice must be provided to the vehicle's owner, including information on how the owner may retrieve the vehicle, which may include payment of a fine.A vehicle owner must be permitted to file a written appeal with the County Department of Transportation ("DOT") to contest the vehicle's impoundment.A vehicle owner is entitled to a fair hearing before a DOT administrative official no later than one month after the date of the vehicle's impoundment.In the event the vehicle owner is successful in the hearing, any fine the owner paid to retrieve the vehicle must be reimbursed to the owner, less a reasonable processing fee.

In his complaint, Charlie argues that he was unconstitutionally denied procedural due process.The judge has asked you for your analysis of this issue.

Write an IRAC as it is applicable

1. Caption
2. facts
3. issue
4. Judgement
5. Procedural History
6. Rational
7. Holding
8. Dissent
9. Conclusion/synthesis