Wyoming recently paid $150,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by hemp farmer Debra Palm-Egle, whose crop was wrongfully seized by law enforcement after they mistakenly believed she was growing marijuana, according to court filings.
Palm-Egle confirmed the settlement amount on Monday, noting that after paying her civil attorney, the remaining payment wasn’t much more than the $54,000 she had already spent on criminal defense lawyers in 2019 and 2020.
Back then, felony charges threatened to send her to prison for decades.
Palm-Egle said filing the lawsuit was necessary, hoping it would make investigators and prosecutors more cautious when handling similar cases in the future. “Maybe it will help them stop and think,” she said.
The settlement ends a lengthy legal battle that started with a 2019 raid on Palm-Egle’s farm in Albin, near the Nebraska border.
Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) agents, armed with assault rifles and tactical gear, raided the farm based on a tip from a neighboring farmer. Investigators claimed to have seen what they thought was marijuana hanging in a barn.
Agents seized 700 pounds of the crop, which would have been a significant drug bust if it had been marijuana.
However, DCI testing later showed the THC levels were consistent with hemp, not marijuana.
Despite this, Palm-Egle, her son, and two employees were charged with multiple offenses, including conspiracy to manufacture and deliver marijuana, possession with intent to deliver, and cultivating marijuana — most of which were felonies.
Palm-Egle’s defense team argued that the crop’s low THC concentration made it impossible to sell as a narcotic. They also pointed out that Palm-Egle was a known advocate for hemp farming in Wyoming and had worked with lawmakers to legalize the crop. She had even posed with Governor Mark Gordon at a bill signing.
During the investigation, DCI agents never interviewed Palm-Egle or her son.
After the raid, a judge restricted Palm-Egle from leaving Laramie County, even though she primarily lived in Colorado.
This forced her to stay on the farm for nine months, interfering with treatments for her multiple sclerosis.
“It was very traumatizing,” Palm-Egle said. “Plus the threat of going to prison for 30 years. You can’t feel comfortable. You can’t feel safe.”
The criminal case eventually fell apart when a Laramie County judge dismissed the charges, ruling that prosecutors could not prove the farmers intended to grow marijuana.
The legal fallout didn’t end there. In 2021, the Wyoming Supreme Court censured prosecutor David Singleton for allowing DCI agent Jon Briggs to give false testimony. Singleton was fined $800 and admitted to violating professional conduct rules.
Briggs was later investigated but cleared of any wrongdoing and remains a DCI investigator. Singleton now serves as a Cheyenne Municipal Court judge.
Palm-Egle filed her federal lawsuit in May 2022. A federal judge sought clarification from the Wyoming Supreme Court on whether residents could sue law enforcement for damages caused by negligent investigations.
In March, the court ruled 3-2 in favor of allowing Palm-Egle’s case to proceed, leading to the settlement.
DCI declined to comment on the settlement, which named Briggs as a defendant. Attorneys for the Wyoming Attorney General’s office also did not respond to requests for comment.
Palm-Egle plans to use the settlement money, after attorney fees, to remodel her barn — a project she had put on hold to cover legal costs. “It’s going to look gorgeous,” she said.
She expressed relief that the legal battle is finally over. “Thank God, it’s over,” she said. “This has been a long fight, and I’m grateful that I’m finished with this and I hope that no one else goes through this in the state.”
The settlement was finalized just after Wyoming’s 2025 legislative session ended.
Before the session, the Joint Judiciary Committee had proposed a bill to shield investigators from similar lawsuits.
However, a change in the committee’s membership led to the bill being dropped. Some lawmakers said it would have given law enforcement too much protection.
Palm-Egle’s son, Josh Egle, continues to grow hemp on the farm, using it to produce herbal medicines to help with sleep.
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